


The Struggle Within

by EllanaSan



Series: Katniss, The Vampire Slayer [5]
Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Buffy The Vampire Slayer Fusion, Alternate Universe - Vampire Slayer, Character Study, F/M, Inspired by Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV), Secrets are Revealed, Slayer!Katniss, There is fighting, Witch!Effie, and cuddling, and everything!, because of demons, come read!, fears are exposed, heavy on character study, watcher!haymitch
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-26
Updated: 2019-08-04
Packaged: 2020-03-17 19:40:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 36,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18971737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EllanaSan/pseuds/EllanaSan
Summary: Katniss dreamed in red.Three vampires, two men and a woman, a sea of blood, dozens of children dead and drained, an old man with deranged eyes she instinctively knew to be Corolianus Snow whispering that he was coming, the end of the world… Blood. Blood everywhere.She woke up with a strangled cry that startled both her sister and the cat at the foot of the bed.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> And we're back for episode Five! How time flies! Can you belive it? 
> 
> This episode will deal heavily with our fave characters inner struggles and fears so I hope you will enjoy this episode as much as I enjoyed writing it! Please do let me know! You know I live for comments!

 

Katniss dreamed in red.

_Three vampires, two men and a woman, a sea of blood, dozens of children dead and drained, an old man with deranged eyes she instinctively knew to be Corolianus Snow whispering that he was coming, the end of the world… Blood. Blood everywhere._

She woke up with a strangled cry that startled both her sister and the cat at the foot of the bed. She sucked in big gulps of air, her stomach cramping in fear…

“What’s wrong?” Prim asked, both sleepy and worried, rubbing her back. “Katniss? Are you sick?”

She was shaking.

The three vampires… They were the Careers. She knew it in her guts. She knew it in her guts the same way she knew the old man was Snow. The same way she knew this wasn’t any other nightmare. _Instinct_. Instinct was everything.

_Slayer dream._

The term came back to her, from the _vampyr_ book she kept under the bed. Not unlike the nightmares that had plagued her since her childhood but more powerful, similar to those that had prevented her from sleeping the week before Haymitch had found her, the week before he had told her she was the Slayer.

_Prophetic dreams_. _Warnings from beyond._

“Katniss?” Prim asked.

All that blood… All those dead people…

“Grab a bag.” she said, her voice shaky and frightened. “Everything you don’t want to leave behind. Grab the cat too.”

Prim’s hand left her back and her sister rubbed her eyes, slowly becoming more awake. “Where are we going?”

_Far_ _away_.

_Far far away._

Katniss was already out of bed, already filling a sport bag with unsteady hands… Where would they go? She wasn’t sure. But they needed to leave. _Now_.

She didn’t answer Prim’s questions, she rushed to her mother’s bedroom. She tried to shake her awake, tried to make her sit, tried to make her _care_ … Her  meds had knocked her out and there was no getting a reaction out of her.

Katniss bit down on her bottom lip and contemplated the problem only to decide it was one for later. She swung by the living-room, grabbed the family pictures and tossed them in the bag with everything else. Prim was packing toiletry bags, still looking sleepy in her pink pajamas.

Katniss didn’t bother getting out of her own pajama pants and old tee-shirt. There wasn’t time. They needed to leave town. Once they would be away… Once they would be _away_ she would get changed, take a deep breath and stop shaking.

She rummaged around her jacket pockets for her phone, grumbling under her breath because she was always losing it… When she finally found it, her heart was still hammering in her ribcage and she was wondering if it would ever stop.

The phone rang and rang and rang… She was about to hang up and try someone else when a sleepy male voice finally answered. “ _What’s wrong? Do you need help?”_

She could have wept at the sound of Peeta’s voice and she almost _did_. “You need to come to my house. Pack a bag. We’re leaving town.”

_“What?”_ he asked, a lot less sleepily. “ _What are you_ …”

“Peeta, they’re coming.” Katniss rushed out in a panicked whisper, mindful of her sister in the bathroom. “We need to get out while we can.”

There was a beat of silence on the other end of the line. “ _Who’s coming? And… My family…”_

Her heart missed a beat. His family. She had forgotten about them. Two older brothers who lived downtown with wives of their own, and his parents… The same went for Gale. And _Madge,_ she remembered belatedly. It wouldn’t be a discreet exit if she took all those people with her. And, obviously, she couldn’t leave Haymitch behind. Nor Effie, she supposed.

But she couldn’t stay at the trailer park either.

The trailer didn’t feel safe.

The trailer didn’t feel safe and she couldn’t help but think Prim would be the ideal target. She didn’t have enough weapons here, she didn’t have enough…

“Can you come get us?” she pleaded. “I need to get Prim to Haymitch’s at least.”

Haymitch would know what to do.

Haymitch would fix it.

“ _Yeah. Sure. That, I can do.”_ He was already moving. She could hear the ruffling of clothes, the clicking of keys. _“I will be there in ten.”_ There was a pause and then. _“Are you alright?”_

She thought about lying but… Her palms were too clammy, her head was still half trapped in that nightmare and…

“I’m scared.” she admitted in something that barely resembled her normal voice. She never sounded that fragile usually. Never sounded that _lost_.

“ _I’m on my way.”_ he repeated and his forced calm was comforting somehow.

They spent the next ten minutes trying to trap Buttercup in his transport case. They had just managed to get him – and Katniss had the scratched hands to prove it – when Peeta’s headlights lined up in front of the house. The roar of his engine was loud and when he cut it, the two a.m. nightly silence slammed back down like a brick.

Katniss opened the door before he could knock, already swinging their bags toward the truck. Peeta watched her with wide eyes, eyebrows shooting up to his hairline, before rushing to help carry everything.

“You weren’t kidding when you said you were leaving.” he said, his voice rough from sleep. He hadn’t bothered getting dressed either and he was wearing a thick zipped-up flannel sweater over his pajamas. His jaw didn’t look as smooth as usual and she briefly wondered if he shaved before chasing those thoughts away because they were neither here nor there.

“Prim, get in the car.” she ordered.

“But what about Mom?” her sister argued, clutching Buttercup’s case to her chest.

“We’ll come back for her when we have a plan.” she promised. Prim still hesitated and she licked her lips. “Look, she’s going to sleep all night. Vampires can’t come in uninvited, she’ll be fine.”

“Then, _we_ should be fine too.” Prim pointed out.

“There are more weapons at Haymitch’s.” she insisted. “ _And_ a witch.”

“Will Haymitch be okay with the _leaving_ _town_ part of the plan?” Peeta asked, incredulous, tossing the last bags in the trunk. “What happened anyway?”

Katniss ignored the question and climbed inside the truck, forcing Prim to do the same. She chewed on her fingernail until Peeta had pulled out of the trailer park. “I had a dream.”

“I am going to take a wild guess and say it wasn’t about people living in harmony.” he joked. But under the light tone, he was worried too. He tossed her a glance. “What kind of dream?”

“The bad kind.” she muttered, rubbing her face. “Do you think Haymitch will still be up? We came back from patrol a while ago.”

“He doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy who sleeps a lot.” he shrugged, glancing at the rearview mirror. “You’re alright back there, Prim?”

Prim was sleepy and a little sullen, probably worried for their mother. She was still clutching the cat. “I’m okay.”

“Should we get Effie when we arrive?” he asked Katniss next. “Did she come on patrol with you guys tonight?”

Katniss rubbed her face again. Peeta had started patrolling with her again, keeping her company when Haymitch couldn’t come or he and Effie argued too much for her to stick around. After so many weeks of Gale following her every footstep, it was a little weird to have someone with her who actually _listened_ when she told them not to rush ahead at the vampires or demons.

She tried not to think about Gale too much as a rule lately. She had been avoiding him, as much because she was still angry as because she didn’t know what to say to him.

What did you say to someone who tried to make a major decision for you behind your back?

Still, Peeta didn’t come _every_ night and that day he had wanted to get a head start on a school project he had been neglecting.

“Yeah, she’s the one who dropped me off.” she answered eventually. “Haymitch had the bike so she took her car…”

Effie refusing to ride on the bike with Haymitch was quickly becoming a recurrent joke in their little group.

“Maybe we should get her a pink helmet.” Peeta suggested, laughter in his voice. “What do you think, Prim?”

The ploy was obvious but Katniss shot him a grateful look anyway when her sister giggled.

“I think it should be pink _and_ have glitter.” Prim answered.

“I’ll get right on that.” He nodded very seriously, driving the car into the Village. “Christmas is coming up.”

“She’s going to kill us.” Katniss snorted.

“Less than Haymitch when you tell him you want to skip town in the middle of the night.” Peeta pointed out and then fell silent. “Sorry.”

“I know I sound crazy.” she muttered, looking out through the window.

“Crazy or not, I’m with you.” he promised.

“Me too.” Prim added, promptly stifling a yawn against the sleeve of her pajamas.

Katniss should have told her to put a jacket on, she mused, even as she flashed the both of them grateful smiles. Her eyes lingered a little on Peeta and he held her gaze for a second too long. It wasn’t uncomfortable though. For a moment, the fear that had her stomach in knots was replaced by strange butterflies.

Then, the truck lined up in front of Haymitch’s house and he cut off the engine, peering out through the windshield. “Looks like Effie is already out for the night but there’s light at Haymitch’s.”

One look in the backseat was enough to determine Prim was fighting off sleep.

“We’ll settle down at Haymitch’s first and then we’ll go wake Effie up.” she decided, climbing down.

The lights were on in her Watcher’s living-room from what she could see. The first floor was dark though. She grabbed a few bags from the trunk, left the rest to Peeta and told Prim to keep a good hold on the cat’s case because the last thing they needed was Buttercup running away.

She didn’t knock or ring the doorbell, she let herself in the house like she usually did.

“Haymitch?” she called out. The lights were on in the hallway, the living-room and, she ascertained after a few steps, the library. She could _also_ hear fighting sounds. Grunts and repeated _banging_ … Her mind flashed back to her dreams. The three vampires, the blood… _Snow_. “Haymitch!”

She dropped the bags and rushed to the small trunk that was covered with a thick layer of dust and neatly tucked away between a dead plant and an ugly vase next to the stairs.

“What’s wrong?” Peeta frowned, tossing the bags he was carrying to the side to place his hands on her sister’s shoulders, ready to herd her off to safety. That was what she liked about Peeta. Gale would have already been right next to her looking for a weapon of his own, ready to fight with her, when what she _needed_ was someone to make sure Prim was alright.

“Get her out of…” she started ordering, faintly noticing that the banging and grunts had stopped, but she fell silent when Haymitch staggered out of the library.

He was bare-chested and barefoot, his pants were up but the belt was undone and he looked terribly disheveled. His eyes were bright and a little wild. He took everything in in one glance: Prim holding the cat case, the numerous bags scattered on the floor, their pajamas, Katniss crouching next to the weapons trunk…

“The _fuck’s_ going on?” her Watcher asked. Alarm made him stand a little straighter. It wasn’t the first time Katniss was seeing him bare-chested – they _did_ train together on a daily basis – but, as usual, her grey eyes were drawn to the ugly swollen scar on his side.

“I heard fighting noises.” she retorted. “I thought you were under attack.”

“ _Ah_.” It was all he said. He rubbed the back of his neck, looking ill-at-ease, and then seemed to remember he wasn’t entirely dressed and quickly buckled his belt. “Sorry. We were…”

“Sparring.” Effie declared, gliding out of the library, immaculate as usual in the same red dress she had been wearing on patrol. “We have been doing research for most of the night and felt the need to let out some… steam.”

Haymitch tossed the witch a look but his face was blank. “Yeah. Right. What she said.”

Katniss frowned harder. “Why are you half-dressed?”

“Cause I was too hot.” Haymitch grumbled. “Didn’t you hear? We were training. What’s up with…” He swept an arm out, encompassing the bags and Prim. “Hey, sweetheart.”

Her sister offered him a shy smile and a small wave. Prim hadn’t exactly been in a lot of contact with Haymitch aside from that one time he had saved her from vampires and a few occasional chance meetings when he had picked Katniss up or dropped her off. “Hey.”

Peeta cleared his throat and Katniss looked at him to see him patting his leg, his eyes on Haymitch. She turned back to her Watcher in time to see the man hurriedly burying something deeper in his pocket. Some sort of silky black fabric. A handkerchief maybe. Why he looked so embarrassed about it though…

Then, _Effie_ cleared her throat, her face a little red. “Is there an emergency?”

“Are you moving in?” Haymitch added. He didn’t look entirely opposed to the idea but he did sound a little bit puzzled.

“I had a dream.” Katniss announced.

“Not the fluffy kind.” Peeta commented.

“The _grab everything and run_ kind.” Prim nodded in agreement.

She tossed them both a look. “You two are _not_ being helpful.”

“I can’t be helpful when I’m tired.” her sister argued, twisting her head to stifle another yawn against her shoulder since her hands were full.

“There’s a guest room up the stairs to the right.” Haymitch said, his voice softening. “It’s probably a bit dusty but… Make yourself at home, kid.”

“I will come up and help.” Effie offered, already guiding Prim toward the stairs with a hand on her shoulder. “Perhaps, if there is no immediate life or death situation, you could make us all some hot cocoa, Haymitch. The children look frozen.”

“Yeah. Okay.” Haymitch agreed, surprisingly meek that night. Usually he shot down every of Effie’s suggestions just for the fun of it. “Go to the library and…”

“The kitchen.” Effie cut him off. “We made a mess with the… sparring.”

“Right.” the Watcher winced, nervously licking his lips. “No library. Kitchen. This way.”

Peeta snorted and then coughed what suspiciously sounded like laughter.

“I’ll take the bags up.” he offered, hurrying up the stairs after Effie and Prim before anyone could stop him.

Katniss wasn’t sure she was happy to be left alone with an odd Haymitch but she supposed she had brought it upon herself.


	2. Chapter 2

2.

Katniss followed Haymitch into the kitchen, wondering why tonight was _so_ weird. She dropped on a chair and buried her face in her hands for a moment, letting the exhaustion wash over her. It was a good thing the next day would be a Saturday or she would probably have fallen asleep in Math again.

“Do you often _spar_ with Effie in the middle of the night?” she mumbled, a little mocking.

She was clueless about that kind of things, she would be the first to admit it, but she wasn’t _that_ clueless that she couldn’t take that kind of hints. She would have bought the training excuse if they had been doing it in the basement and if Haymitch’s belt hadn’t been undone.

Haymitch paused in front of the open fridge, his back on her, then he grabbed the carton of milk and sniffed it before pouring it in a pot.

“Sometimes.” he answered a little too casually. He disappeared from the room long enough to come back with his crumpled shirt. He didn’t bother with shoes.

By the time Peeta and Effie came back down with reports that Prim was settled, the hot cocoa was ready and Katniss was already holding her mug tight. She could feel the warmth of it under her palms but she didn’t seem to be able to shake off the cold.

“I had a nightmare.” she finally explained, swallowing hard. “It was… It was so _real_.”

“Slayer dream.” Effie hummed, her shoulders going rigid. “That’s never pleasant.”

“What would you know about it?” she hissed. She knew she was jumping at her throat for no good reason but she was tired and scared and Effie’s dress was annoyingly _red_. Under the weak neon lights of Haymitch’s kitchen, it looked a sad sort of crimson that reminded her of the rivers of blood in her dream.

“I have them occasionally.” the woman offered with pursed lips. “I know you are tired but it is _no_ reason to be rude, Katniss.”

“What do you mean, you _have_ them?” Peeta frowned. “I’ve read about Slayer dreams. Aren’t they supposed to be only for… _the Slayer_?”

“The clarity of vision Katniss probably experienced tonight, yes.” Effie explained. “Nightmares as omens of an apocalypse or when the imbalance with the forces of darkness are too great are common to all Potentials. They were stronger in my youth, I will admit, but they still happen from time to time. They are impossible for me to decipher though, they simply leave me with an impression of foreboding.”

“Yeah?” Haymitch asked, his interest clearly piqued. “You still have them? Even so old?”

That warranted him a dark look and lips pursed even tighter. “Are you calling me _old_?”

“You know what I mean.” he dismissed.

“You were a Potential?” Katniss cut in before they could get too seriously into bickering.

It didn’t seem to be new information for her Watcher but Effie had never informed her of that little fact.

“Perhaps we could dive into my past another time.” the witch deflected. “What was the dream about?”

She told them, adding all the details she could remember. The vampires, the dead children, the blood flooding the ground, Snow… She was shaking again by the time she was done and she tossed Peeta a grateful look when his hand hesitantly covered hers.

“It does not mean it will come to pass.” Effie declared. “Slayers dreams are warnings, they do not…”

Haymitch stood up a little too abruptly and walked over to the counter to grab one of the sticky bottles of moonshine on display. They all watched, silent, as he poured himself a glass and downed it before refilling it again.

“Haymitch.” the witch said firmly, a little reproachfully even. “Slayer dreams do _not_ predict the future.”

“They’re a good enough indication in my experience.” He snorted. “Snow’s gonna rise and we’re all gonna die.”

The way he said it sent a chill down Katniss’ spine.

“We have to leave.” she whispered. It was the only logical course of action, the only _sensible_ one.

“Do not be preposterous. We _cannot_ leave.” Effie huffed. “Our duty…”

“ _Fuck_ duty.” Haymitch interrupted her, his back still turned on them. “It’s her life.”

“She is _the Slayer_.” the Art teacher reminded him.

“Stop saying that like it means _shit_.” he snarled, refilling his glass for the third time.

“We’re leaving.” Katniss insisted. “All of us. We’re going to find a place not too far and regroup. And…”

“I’m not going anywhere.” Haymitch countered.

“You _just_ said…” she argued.

“Snow’s _my_ _fucking_ responsibility.” he snapped. “If he breaks free, I’m gonna have to try to kill him.”

“And get _yourself_ killed in the process?” Effie scoffed.

Another glass of liquor was downed. “If that’s what it takes.”

The Watcher’s voice was hollow, bitter…

Katniss swallowed hard, torn with what her survival instinct was screaming at her and… “I can’t leave you behind.”

“Then, I guess you’re not going anywhere either.” Haymitch shrugged, finally turning around.

And she saw it on his face, the knowledge that he had never truly believed she _would_ leave. Because she was the Slayer and it was her duty to protect everyone from evil master vampires who wanted to conquer the world or die trying. _Probably_ die trying.

He had snapped at Effie because he wanted it to be her choice, not because she felt she _had_ to. Well… _Fuck._

She turned to Peeta. “You…”

“I’m staying with you.” her friend pledged before she could finish. He squeezed her hand. “Until the end of the line, pal.”

She hadn’t even noticed he was still holding her hand.

The moment felt _huge_ somehow. They were sitting close and there was an intensity in his blue eyes, a _resolve_ … Yes, the moment felt huge. As if she was on the edge of…

She wasn’t sure. But it scared her for different reasons that her nightmare had.

“Is that another pop culture reference you think I should know about?” she asked, to break the oddness of it.

His smile was immediate and a little boyish. “MCU is next on our movie nights.”

Planning movie nights when they were willingly vowing to risk their lives might have been a bit ridiculous but, for some reason, it made her feel so much better. She squeezed his hand back and turned to Effie who was inspecting her manicure.

When the female Watcher realized all eyes were on her she gave a one shoulder shrug. “Do not look at me. My orders are clear, I am not going anywhere.”

She made it sound light and a little dismissive but Katniss nodded to her in thanks all the same. They could use her magic powers.

“I think we should send my mom to that clinic.” she said next, turning to Haymitch. She didn’t like having to ask. She didn’t like imposing on him so much but… “The doctor’s been on my case for months about that.”

“You don’t trust her not to invite vampires in again.” Peeta remarked.

“I don’t trust her to protect Prim if it comes down to that.” she agreed. “And the trailer park isn’t safe enough.”

“You _don’t_ say.” Effie muttered under her breath before taking a sip of her cocoa. It must have grown cold because she winced.

Haymitch’s grey eyes were on her but he remained silent so Katniss trudged on. If he wanted her to spell it out, she _would_ spell it out. “We should move in here. Prim and I. She’ll be safer here with one of you while I’m on patrol.”

The safest bet would have been to send her sister _away_ but she had no one to send her to.

Still, Haymitch was silent, his face closed off and his eyes boring into hers.

Effie and Peeta were looking at both of them in turns.

Katniss’ heart started racing in her chest when she realized with a sickening feeling what his silence meant. _He didn’t want them_. And why would he? His job was to teach her and mentor her, not take care of her. He didn’t want his house invaded by kids who would prevent him from _sparing_ with his neighbor witch in the library in the wee hours of the morning. He wasn’t her father. He didn’t owe her _anything_.

Still, the feeling of rejection was so strong, tears pricked her eyes.

Her cheeks burning red, she turned her head away.

“Never mind.” she spat. “I’ll think of something else.”

She could feel Effie’s concerned gaze and the glare Peeta was directing at Haymitch. She had a feeling the witch was going to offer her house and Katniss would have no choice but to accept, already knowing it would be a nightmare. The Art teacher would probably insist on rules and curfews and all the things Katniss didn’t need.

She wasn’t looking for a parent – and she told herself that _firmly_ , no matter how much she had come to rely on Haymitch without even realizing it – she just wanted a safe place. She had thought Haymitch was that for her but apparently she had been wrong.

The tension in the kitchen was so thick that when he finally spoke, everyone startled.

“This house’s the first place Snow will strike.” he said. “He’s gonna come after you ‘cause you’re the Slayer and he’s gonna come after me ‘cause that’s what he does best. And here’s the first place he’s gonna look for us.”

“May I suggest we _move_ , then?” Effie cut in. “It pains me to say it now that my house is _finally_ finished but this town is not short of empty places…”

“We can’t hide. He’s gonna find us.” Haymitch shook his head. “He’s gonna find _me_.”

The fear in his voice was palpable and it _shocked_ Katniss. He was always tense when they discussed the Careers or Snow but… She had never heard him so _afraid_ before.

“He can’t get inside.” she pointed out. “Even if he knows where we live…”

“He turned my brother and sent him right back here, hoping we’d let him in and he’d kill us all.” he snapped. “Don’t tell me he can’t get inside ‘cause I promise you he can find ways.”

There was a long awkward silence.

“What do we do then?” Peeta asked after a while. “If there’s no good option, why not run with the safest one? Strength in numbers, right? This place has locks on every doors and windows, there’s a small armory in every room and there’s a powerful witch across the street. It’s like Fort Knox. Sure, there’s a risk but… I think it’s safer than the trailer and there are less people around who could become collateral damage if there _is_ a fight.”

It was so like Peeta to think about possible innocent victims when she had only been thinking about her sister and herself that Katniss squeezed his hand again. She should probably let go, she told herself. She was behaving like a frightened child.

“If you do not want to host the girls, I can.” Effie offered in a tentative voice. “I can add magical protections on both houses too. It won’t be one hundred percent safe but…”

Haymitch made a move as if to bring the empty glass to his lips and then, upon realizing there wasn’t any more liquor in it, he placed it down on the counter and grabbed the bottle’s neck, directly gulping down from it.

“Ain’t that I don’t want the girls around, sweetheart.” he grumbled, locking eyes with Katniss with a little too much intensity. “ _Ain’t_ that I don’t want you around, girl. Any other time…” He shook his head again, slouching a little, looking defeated. “You’ve got no idea the games Snow gets up to… It’s… It’s gonna be _dangerous_ to be around me.”

“Well, I’m not going anywhere either way.” Katniss argued. “You’re my Watcher.”

“Maybe I shouldn’t be.” Haymitch muttered, his eyes dropping to the floor. “Maybe you just stick _away_ from me… Effie can…”

“No.” both she and Effie refused at the same time. The witch took the time to send Katniss a slightly hurt look before huffing and turning toward Haymitch. “Your experience with Snow is _invaluable_.” She clucked her tongue and waved her hand. “It is _too soon_ to worry about all this anyway. We can reconsider the arrangements _if_ and _when_ necessary but, for now, Snow is still _very much_ trapped in hell. We should focus on stopping the Careers.” She reached out and loosely coiled her fingers around Haymitch’s wrist. “I agree with Katniss. The girls would be safer here with you.”

It took almost a whole minute before Haymitch looked up at her. They exchanged a long complicated gaze that made Katniss feel like an intruder.

She decided it was a good time to take her own hand back from Peeta. The boy startled a little and looked a little disappointed but he covered it with a small smile that she answered with one of her own.

“Alright.” Haymitch finally agreed, turning back to Katniss. “ _Alright_. Let’s _fucking_ go to bed now. We can talk about the rest in the morning.” His gaze shifted to Peeta. “You wanna stay too?”

The question was so purposefully left open Katniss couldn’t tell if he meant for the night or forever.

“How many guest rooms do you have?” Peeta snorted.

“Prim and I can share.” she offered. “We’re used to it.”

“There is always my guest room.” Effie suggested, flashing Peeta an amused smile. “I know it is very pink for your taste but it is yours shall you _ever_ need it. You know that.”

“Thanks, Effie.” he answered with a softer smile. “I think I should go home tonight, though.”

He stood up and it seemed to put an end to the impromptu reunion. Rubbing her eyes but unable to shake the weird exhaustion from her bones, Katniss mumbled her thanks and her goodnights and staggered up the stairs.

She felt like she could drop dead.

°O°O°O°O°O°

Haymitch waited until the boy was back in his truck and moving away before grabbing Effie’s wrist. He knew she was puzzled by the fact he was bothering to walk her back to the end of his driveway because he usually never did. He trusted her to cross the street at night without getting herself attacked – and he trusted he would hear if she _did_ get attacked.

She frowned at him, tilting her head a little to the side in question.

They had become a little too good at reading each other in the last few weeks. His heart was in his throat and he was half convinced she could tell.

He didn’t often freeze with panic. That wasn’t him. He had seen too much, _done_ too much… But the thought that Snow… It was the kind of terror that was mind-debilitating. He couldn’t go through that again. Watching his family, _his friends_ die one by one…

“I will have to inform the Council Katniss is living with you now.” she told him quietly, glancing at the open doorway behind him.

“Inform away.” he managed to croak out, sounding less sarcastic than he wanted.

Her eyelashes fluttered down and then up again. “I am not going to ask if you are alright because it seems like a stupid question.”

“You should leave.” he blurted out.

She frowned, confused. “You are the one holding my arm.”

He let go, his fingers trailing down the back of her hand. “I mean leave town.” She opened her mouth but he lifted his hand in the air to stop her. “I know you think you don’t have a choice, what with Council _bullshit_ and fate and everything but _I_ ’m _giving_ you one, right now. It ain’t gonna end well, Princess, I can feel it in my guts. Leave town. Go back to England. Get yourself a life that’s not cloaked in _fucking_ darkness.”

She cupped his cheek and, for a second, he let himself regret the fact they hadn’t finished what they had started on the round table in the library – and he made a note to himself he needed to dispatch that used condom before one of the girls found it.

“I made my choice and I am staying.” she told him with a small smile. “We’re a team, aren’t we?”

He closed his eyes and shook his head, burying his hands in his pockets. He could feel the lace of her panties against his knuckles from when he had hastily stashed them in there so the kids wouldn’t see. He didn’t offer them back. 

“Just think about it.” he urged.

She pressed a ghost of a kiss on his lips and then she was gone.

He watched her stride across the street, not going back inside until she had safely reached her house.

He had a bad feeling.

A _really_ bad feeling.

The same sort of bad feeling he had had the night his brother had been late to come home.

The same sort of bad feeling he had had every time he had lost a Slayer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you have it! Katniss isn't as clueless as she seems. Sometimes. Haymitch is freaaaaaking out. Will we survive this episode do you think?


	3. Chapter 3

_Katniss dreamt and her dreams were red._

_Rivers of blood and Prim’s screams of agony and an acute pain that started in her chest and spread to her extremities._

_°O°O°O°O°_

_Haymitch dreamt and his dreams were grey._

_Pearly ghosts who accused him of failing them and a downpour of ashes and an acute pain that started in his chest and spread to his extremities._

_°O°O°O°O°_

_Prim dreamt and her dreams were white._

_A thick coat of loneliness and screams without sound and an acute pain that started in her chest and spread to her extremities._

_°O°O°O°O°_

_Effie dreamt and her dreams were black._

_Veins pulsing dark beneath her skin and raw power under her fingertips and an acute pain that started in her chest and spread to her extremities._

°O°O°O°O°

Effie felt restless.

She was sitting cross-legged in Haymitch’s living-room with a stash of books, having fled the library and the occasional chatter of Peeta and Prim. The girl had been subdued ever since Haymitch had dropped her home after seeing her mother off earlier that morning. He had also given _her_ back her borrowed car with many mutters about it being too small and not speedy enough and a lot of adjectives that, as she pointed out, hinted he felt he had something to prove with the size of his vehicle, which she knew for a fact he didn’t. He and Katniss had gone back out on the bike to take care of the legal side of things – because he couldn’t just take the girls in and call it a day, there were papers to sign and lawyers to consult even with Aster Everdeen’s agreement.

She and Peeta had been researching all morning with fervor but she was starting to think that if there ever was a single mention of the Careers in all the books in his library, it was well hidden. Even her faithful IPad hadn’t given results and she had never felt so betrayed by technology before. 

But, more than that, she was _on edge_.

Was it talking about Slayer dreams that had triggered nightmares? She didn’t remember the dreams but she knew they had been bad, not _Slayer dreams bad_ but bad nonetheless. She had woken up hungry and aching. And not for food.

For a while she had been confused because she had equaled the sensation with arousal and something like _that_ had never happened to her – certainly not after a nightmare and not without at least a little stimulation. Saying she hadn’t been frustrated to see her pleasure time cut short the previous night – all the more so when she had been about to finish – would have been a lie but frustration was nothing new and she could deal with it like a grown woman. That hadn’t been it. The aching, the hunger, the _humming_ of her whole body… It had taken her a moment of lying in bed, short of breath and staring at the ceiling to realize it was _her magic_.

Her power, as her mother was fond of reminding her and contrary to Haymitch’s preposterous beliefs, was weak. She had a good grip on it because of that and never before had it felt like a living thing. It was a tool for her to use, just like Katniss’ bow or Haymitch’s knife, just like her fists and feet when she actually _tried_ to apply her training. She knew for powerful witches magic had a will of its own, it could consume and burn you if you weren’t careful but that had never been a problem for her.

Until that morning.

Her skin felt raw, her mind was jumbled, her mouth parched, she was hungry and aching and she wanted to do more, more, _more_ …

She heard the roar of the bike coming down the street and stopping in front of the house but she remained focused on skimming through an old Watcher’s journal about a Greek Slayer, trying to find a hint of the Careers. The time frame could fit around the time the vampires had been sired.

“We’ve got burgers from Sae’s!” Haymitch bellowed before the front door was even close. He must have been hungry, it was well past lunch time and it was good he remembered to feed the children. She had forgotten. “You… What the _fuck_?”

Effie winced and stopped herself from rocking on herself, wriggling her hands this way and that. She listened to the noises of hungry children stomping to the kitchen, the low rumble of voices and, then, predictably, looked up to see Haymitch leaning against the living-room’s doorframe. He glanced at the flying feather duster in the air, the mop passing itself and the gleaming polish smearing itself on top of wooden furniture. Compared to the vacuum cleaners running by themselves at different points in the house and the scrubbing brushes and buckets taking care of the different bathrooms, the living-room was positively tame.

“Channeling your inner Mickey Mouse?” he deadpanned. “Only seen that cartoon once but if I remember right, didn’t end _that well_ for him.”

“Your house needed a good cleaning spree.” she lied.

The truth was the hum under her skin had started to become painful and she had _needed_ an outlet to her magic that wasn’t firing fireballs or covering something in frost. She had found the cleaning spell and she had used it but it hadn’t been supposed to take _this_ scale. It should only have tackled one room at a time.

And it shouldn’t have left her wanting more.

He studied her for a long minute, annoyance and concern battling on his face.

“You look terrible.” he commented at last.

“Why, thank you.” she huffed. “You do _not_ actually look smashing either.”

He hadn’t drunk in a while – he couldn’t exactly take care of Katniss and Prim’s guardianship business with whiskey on his breath – and it showed. His eyes were bloodshot and his fingers didn’t appear to be able to keep still.

A bit like hers.

She wondered if he was itching for a drink as much as she was for another spell.

He didn’t seem to be able to meet her gaze. His eyes kept flickering left and right, fixing on something for a second, staring at the air, and then coming back on her.

“Get rid of that _Fantasia_ stuff and come eat.” he ordered.

“Burgers?” she sniffed disdainfully, stretching out the moment because if her magic wasn’t supplying the cleaning spell she was actually afraid it would burn her inside out.

She gave up on the Watcher journal and waved her hand, making a spellbook appear in front of her with a _poof_ without even thinking about it. Haymitch didn’t startle but his frown deepened. She didn’t usually use magic that casually. She knew a cloaking spell against evil existed and if she could just cast it on both their houses, they would be safe from vampires, demons and anything with evil intentions. She could probably add a few more layers of wards too. That should keep her magic happy. It would take a lot out of her but she could probably do it if someone helped lending their own power, maybe Haymitch since he was at least a little used to magic. She would have asked Peeta but he was still a bit young.

“I got you a salad ‘cause I know you like your rabbit food and I’m nice like that.” he grumbled. “Come on. Whatever you’re doing can wait.”

“I think you will find it is called _healthy_ food, actually.” she retorted.

And there was no escaping the healthy food, it seemed. Not even for more magic.

She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and tried to ignore the dark pull of the Hellmouth under her feet. _Use me_ , it whispered in her mind without words, _abuse me_ , _I am yours to command, yours to wield…_ She muttered the right spell and buckets, broom, vacuum cleaners, mops and dusters clattered on the floor everywhere around the house. Another spell and they put themselves away.

Immediately, her skin felt too tight, her power buzzing under her skin.

Haymitch’s hand hovered in front of her face and she took it by reflex, letting him pull her to her feet.

“You’re good?” he asked, a little worried.

“Positively peachy.” she lied. “ _Famished_. How did it go with the lawyer?”

As predicted, with Mrs Everdeen having signed the right papers – with relief, apparently – and the Council’s discreet nudge in the right place, there had been no trouble. Haymitch was now the legal – if temporary – guardian of two young girls. She almost congratulated him but he looked so lost and so tired she didn’t dare, not even to tease.

Everyone in the kitchen was subdued. Peeta was the only one trying to keep up a cheerful front. Katniss was glowering at her fries, Prim looked sad, the ugly ginger cat was perched on the counter glaring at everyone and Haymitch didn’t look any happier than the others.

She had been worried about having to hide the fact she wasn’t hungry but she shouldn’t have bothered.

Nobody ate much more than two mouthfuls.

°O°O°O°O°

Katniss was restless.

She was sitting at the library table, a pile of books it seemed they had consulted a thousand times already opened in front of her, already knowing they would find no mention of the Careers. Her grey eyes kept drifting to Prim who had curled up in an armchair in the corner with a book that had nothing to do with demons, vampires or hell portals – she had wanted to help them research but both she and Haymitch had put their foot down on the idea.

She was _on edge_.

She couldn’t stop thinking something _bad_ was going to happen. To Prim specifically. There was a lump in her throat and it left her short of breath to even phantom the thought of her sister getting hurt or worse.

Haymitch and Effie were no help. Haymitch had spent the whole afternoon staring at nothing, sometimes startling for no reason, sometimes disappearing in the bathroom for entirely too long. As for Effie, she had been even more annoying than usual, using her powers for no good reason Katniss could see. She had made herself tea levitating everything and making the water boil with a flick of her wrist, she made books _poof_ in front of her, she had used her magic to _freshen_ up the house – or whatever she called it – making it look as if the coat of paint on the walls was new…

Katniss had kept waiting for Haymitch to snap at her but he was lost in his own world and she wasn’t even sure he had noticed the changes.

It was Katniss who had told her to stop or go home, frustrated and angry. It was certainly nice to have a clean house but she was still freaked out by the casual display of magic. She had grown to know Effie enough to trust her but not to the amount of blind trust she had in Haymitch or, for that matter, in Peeta. And she was still _not_ entirely convinced magic could be good.

Which was why she startled when Effie came strutting back in the room with enough energy to make everyone uncomfortable, her phone still in her hand.

“Caesar said the Council has no clue where the Careers could be.” the woman announced. “They might be on their way or they might already be here, there is simply no way to know.”

Haymitch dragged his eyes away from the upper floor of the library. Katniss glanced again but she couldn’t see what was so fascinating about the second floor pathway, only that it was empty and that, thanks to Effie’s spells, it was now devoid of any speck of dust.

“Flickerman?” the Watcher hesitated with a frown. “Thought you were reporting straight to Coin.”

“I am.” Effie confirmed. “But I trust Caesar’s information a lot more than I trust President Coin’s. He would _never_ double-cross me.”

 “ _Never_ ’s a strong word.” Haymitch scoffed, looking her up and down with a lazy sweep of his eyes. “Bit old for you, ain’t he?”

Peeta hid his smile behind his hand but Katniss wasn’t really interested in watching them bicker or flirt or whatever they called it. Her gaze darted to her sister again, making sure Prim was still breathing and alright. The girl had been out of sort since they had said goodbye to their mother that morning. Katniss couldn’t pretend she didn’t _care_ but she had been forced to carry the family for too long and her feelings toward her mother were very complicated. There was a lot of resentment there, she supposed, and not worrying about her accidentally taking _too much_ meds would be a relief. 

“Do not be insulting.” Effie snapped. “He was my Watcher.”

That got her attention and Katniss turned her head toward the witch, studying her. She had felt a strange kinship the previous day when Effie had revealed that she had been a Potential. She could have been a Slayer. Well, she would have had to be dead for Katniss to stand there but…

“ _Caesar Flickerman_ was your Watcher?” Haymitch repeated, disbelief and a touch of something Katniss hesitated to call respect in his voice. He tilted his head to the side, watching her with a calculating expression on his face. “They _really_ must have thought you could be it, then. He’s kind of a Watcher legend.”

“No more than Mags or anyone who has actually mentored a Slayer before.” Effie argued, her cheeks flushing a little.  “No more than _you_ for that matter. And I assure you it only took a couple of days for both of us to realize I would be a _dismal_ Slayer.” She waved her hand. “The point is…”

“Still no lead.” Haymitch sighed, rubbing his eyes. He checked his watch. “We should make it a long patrol tonight. Cemeteries, downtown, the woods and the Hellmouth. Maybe hit _Ripper’s_ at some point, she might have information.”

It wasn’t really a suggestion. Haymitch didn’t do suggestions when it came to patrolling, he just expected Katniss to follow his instructions. The thing was though… The simple thought of letting Prim out of her sight left her with her stomach in knots.

“I’m not patrolling tonight.” she declared.

Everyone’s head turned in her direction, staring at her as if she had just professed the most stupid thing ever, but it was Haymitch who scoffed first. “Like hell you ain’t. Now _ain’t_ the time to go soft, sweetheart. If the Careers are here, we need to know.”

Katniss glared at him. “I’m not leaving Prim here alone.”

There was a very long silence. Effie and Haymitch exchanged an unreadable look, Peeta was frowning at her and Prim pouted.

“I’m alright to stay here.” her sister offered. “I’ll stay inside and watch TV. I know the rules.”

“What if demons attack the house while we’re gone? Almost everyone knows Haymitch lives here.” she retorted. “Demons don’t need to be asked to come in, Prim.”

“ _You_ ’re the one who said the two of you’d be safer living with me.” her Watcher countered. “Bit late to change your mind now.”

“I can stay with Prim.” Peeta offered. Katniss turned to look at him and he shrugged. “I can’t hold off an army of demons but I can probably distract them long enough for her to get out and run. Not that _anything_ is going to happen.” He added the last part hastily with a reassuring look for Prim. “We can watch a movie and order a pizza.”

“You had burgers for lunch.” Effie clucked her tongue. “ _Healthy_ food would not be amiss tonight.”

“I can cook but I’m pretty sure Haymitch’s cupboards are empty.” he joked.

“Then, you’d be wrong.” her Watcher grumbled. “I started stocking up when Katniss started coming to the house every day.”

“Candy bars are _not_ healthy food.” Effie argued.

“There is more than candy bars.” Haymitch retorted. “Give me _some_ credit. I can feed kids.” He shot Effie a nasty look. “You can find something _healthy_ to eat.”

Katniss felt the decision slip out of her hands.

“It’s not just Prim.” she snapped. “What if something happens to Peeta while I’m gone? Or…”

“Look.” Haymitch snapped. “Anything can happen to any of us. We knew that last night. We all chose to stay.”

He glanced at Effie. It was brief and the other Watcher didn’t seem to notice but…

“No, _you_ bullied me into staying.” Katniss argued. “Peeta can’t hold off a demon. What if _something_ happens?”

Haymitch’s face closed off, his eyes darted up to the second floor again and back, his jaw clenching… “Effie can stay with your sister. She’s strong enough to hold off a demon or two.”

“I am _not_ staying.” the witch argued. She was fidgety like Katniss had rarely seen her. “I want to go out on patrol and _burn_ some vampires.” She looked shocked at what had come out of her own mouth and stood there, startled for a moment, before licking her lips, hiding behind a dazzling smile and a dismissive wave of her hand. “You stay. I will go with Katniss.”

“I’m not staying home and sending the two of you out there when there might be a master vampire’s spawns on the loose.” he sneered. “I _won’t_ bury you.”

“You’re most likely gonna bury _me_.” Katniss nastily shot back.

He flinched. A whole body flinch.

So did Prim for that matter.

“ _Alright_.” Peeta cut in, still frowning. “Look, I know I don’t have superpowers or magic but Haymitch doesn’t either. I _can_ keep your sister safe. You should go.”

“I can tour the cemeteries and the downtown area.” Effie suggested. “You and Katniss can go to the Hellmouth.”

Haymitch pursed his lips and tossed Katniss a strange look. “No. The kid’s right. I don’t have magic powers. You stay with her. I’ll take the bike and ride to the Hellmouth.”

“On your own?” Effie huffed. “Certainly _not_.”

Haymitch stood up, a sneer on his face. “Wasn’t asking for your permission.”

As if his getting to his feet had been the final say, everyone else started to move. Peeta pushed away from the table to walk closer to Prim, already asking her what she was in the mood for, Effie started towards the door and Haymitch headed straight for the weapons trunk in the corner…

Everything was unraveling around Katniss.

Separating felt like the worst idea ever.

“What if you die?” she blurted out, loud enough to cover everyone else’s voices. She wasn’t sure who she was talking to, just that the fear was too strong to be ignored. It was _painful_. She couldn’t move, she couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t…

It was Haymitch who answered her, without even looking at her. “Never been that lucky. Get a move on.”

Getting a move on when Effie was coming on patrol was never that easy. Haymitch’s bike had roared away into the night long before the witch was ready to go out – although she _did_ take only fifteen minutes to change and, for once, her outfit did include pants and squared heels boots. When she slipped behind the wheel, the woman looked both impatient and apprehensive.

Katniss was _only_ apprehensive.  

She was clutching her bow in her hands so tight that her knuckles turned white. Everything in her _screamed_ she shouldn’t leave her sister or Peeta or Haymitch.

“What did he mean?” she asked right when Effie parked next to the cemetery. They hadn’t exchanged a word the whole ride. “What did he mean when he said he’s never been that lucky?”

“He buried a lot of people, darling. It takes a toll.” Effie shook her head and got out of the car, already walking toward the cemetery as if she simply _couldn’t wait_.

There was a distinct shift to their dynamic that night. Usually, when she came with Katniss – and more often than not with _Haymitch_ – on patrol, Effie was happy to take a step back and be there as backup rather than full on fighter. That night, however, Katniss barely had time to shoot an arrow or two. Effie was setting vampires on fire left and right when she wasn’t staking them with stalagmite that seemed to appear right in her palm at the decisive moment. At some point, they stumbled upon a group of ugly looking demons with retractable spikes along their forearms – that Effie identified as Polgara demons – and instead of doing the clever thing and let Katniss handle them, she simply unleashed such an amount of magic that Katniss’ hair started to frizzle. After that, she seemed to glow for a while, coming back to her usually chatty self even if she was standing on a pile of demon ash.

Katniss, for her part, might have commented on her weird behavior if she hadn’t been so busy chewing on her fingernails and worrying about her sister, Peeta and Haymitch.

The dread was impossible to ignore and it was a relief when they finally decided to call it a night and go home.

°O°O°O°O°

Haymitch shouldn’t have been riding that bike.

He was restless. _On edge_.

That wasn’t good when you were trying to steer a heavy piece of metal down narrow country roads. And that was without mentioning the gulps of liquor he had regularly downed all afternoon.

He should have borrowed Peeta’s truck, at the very least. Yeah. That would have been the clever thing to do.

But the clever thing to do had flown out the window that morning when he had woken up drenched in sweat from the nightmares.

He was used to nightmares, that wasn’t the problem. The problem was that the ghosts who haunted his mind usually vanished in daylight. They hadn’t today. They had stayed with him. And it _hurt_ , it _hurt_ so much it was a dull ache that took roots in his chest and spread to the rest of his body.

He leaned forward a little, unconsciously increasing the speed of the bike, hoping that maybe he could outrace them. Stupid, of course. They were shackled to him, his ghosts. Never to fade. He didn’t deserve the peace.

He was almost glad when the bright lights of _The Capitol_ appeared around a bend in the road. Around the Hellmouth, there was almost always the guarantee of a fight. The big windows glittered in the night, when he rushed past straight toward the meadow he could hear the faint murmur of classical music over the roar of the bike. The hotel was full of tourists, no doubt, easy preys for the monsters that roamed in the night.

He ditched the bike not too far from _The Capitol’s_ parking lot and headed to the woods, deciding to circle back toward the old burned tree standing guard in the middle of the meadow. He wasn’t alone when he wandered on the uneven path, though.

Eight ghosts walked with him.

Sometimes, it felt like he was physically carrying their combined weight.

His mother, first and foremost, her face never quite clear – the memories he had of her were almost all fake, moments he had invented from staring too long at the old pictures in Mag’s study.

His brother second, Hayden always bounced rather than walked, true to how he had been in life – sometimes he wore his baby brother’s face and sometimes it was the demon’s bumpy ridges and fangs.

Mabel third. Always by his side even when she glared and accused him of having gotten her killed. Then came his personal guards, the failures he could never forgive himself for.

Maysilee. Always silent. Always with her throat torn out.

Alina. Quiet and accusative. The smell of almond always tickling his nose when she was around.

Cecelia. Her big terrified eyes, glassy and empty from death, exactly like when he had found her body in that graveyard, cold and hard in the first light of dawn.

Johanna. Johanna and her sneer, the grease stains on her hands from always tinkering with that _damned_ bike, acidic comments on her lips.

And then, of course, Annie. The only one who never looked at him with hatred or resentment. She had been too kind for that in life and she was still too kind for it in death. Annie followed him like she had always done, aloof and never quite _there._

He didn’t find the fight he was itching for in the woods, which was a little weird because it usually had at least a vampire or two – or some demon – attracted to the Hellmouth. He circled back to the meadow, disappointed and clutching his stake, determined to ignore the army of ghosts trailing behind him.

The Hellmouth was looming, taunting him.

Maysilee’s ghost flickered and, next thing he knew, she was twitching on the ground, on the very same spot she had died. He clenched his jaw, walked onward toward the tree until he could lay a hand on the old burned bark…

There was nothing there.

No one trying out a ritual. No Careers. He couldn’t even feel the telling prickle at his nape that would have warned him he was being watched.

There was nothing there.

Nothing but a broken man, one dead boy and seven girls who had fallen too young.

His feet were heavy when he dragged them back to his bike, his grey eyes automatically coming to rest on the hotel’s lights in the distance. The bike creaked under his weight when he straddled it. He slipped the helmet on with mechanical moves. His gloved hands found the worn out handles. His gaze found Jo’s angry face.

“I’m sorry.” he whispered even though it never helped to talk to them.

Talking to them didn’t make them go away.

Although, to be fair, they never had followed him outside before, not like this. They felt so real they looked almost solid. He was afraid to reach out and touch them, afraid he would actually _feel_ something.

He drove too fast on the way back to the house. He was reckless. A little too slow to take the turns. A little too eager to break his neck.

He only remembered once he passed the Village’s gates that he had wanted to stop at _Ripper’s_ but he didn’t have enough energy to spare right then. All he wanted was his bedroom and a bottle. To drown the ghosts out of his mind.

They scared him, those ghosts.

That was the truth he didn’t want to admit. Guilt and regret, he could handle, he was used to it. Self-loathing and hatred, he had them in spades. But _those_ _ghosts,_ that day… He couldn’t shake the feeling they were coming for him. To drag him to hell. To…

They scared him _shitless_.

He must have taken longer on patrol than he had thought because Effie’s pink car was already back in her lane and there was no light on over at her house. Peeta’s truck was still parked in the street though and it was the boy who greeted him when he pushed the front door open.

“Katniss and Prim went to bed.” the boy told him, after he had made sure Haymitch was alright.

“You’re staying?” he asked, rubbing his face, slouching a little because Maysilee had found her usual spot on the couch and his mother was standing next to the window, watching the street and hugging herself with a distressed expression on her face he was pretty sure was a real memory and Mabel was sitting at the bottom of the stairs, nervously toying with her dark hair… Johanna was perched on the railing of the first floor and Annie… Annie was drifting like she was prone to do. Hayden never came into the house. He couldn’t. Not anymore. Not since he had been turned. The only place he appeared was Haymitch’s bedroom when he woke up from a nightmare.

“If it’s okay?” Peeta hesitated. “I mean… I know you have a lot on your plate and I don’t want to add to that. It’s just… I got in trouble for leaving the house in the middle of the night again. It’s better if I just… sleep over somewhere else tonight. But I can go to Effie. She said I…”

“You’re welcomed to stay, kid. Told you before.” he cut him off, a bit too harshly. “The girls are sharing, I think. You can have the other guestroom. Make yourself at home.”

 He left the boy with that and hauled his tired body up the stairs.

Johanna watched him pass, her brown eyes soulless, a threatening sneer on her lips.

Mabel was standing in front of his room, her mouth moving without sound.

_He’s coming,_ she was saying. _Run. He’s coming._

Her last words.

A prophecy of sort.

He crashed on the bed, grabbed the bottle he kept on his nightstand and tried to give himself some liquid courage.

Because Snow _was_ coming. Haymitch could feel it in his bones.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's something veeeeery wrong with our gang... What do you think is going on? Let me know your thoughts!


	4. Chapter 4

_Katniss dreamt and her dreams were red._

_A sea of blood. A pile of corpses. Loved ones with torn throats. A despair too stifling to crush. A terror without name._

_An acute pain that started in her chest and spread everywhere, so sharp she couldn’t breathe._

_°O°O°O°O°_

_Haymitch dreamt and his dreams were grey._

_Ghostly shapes. A rumble of accusations. Snow laughing on a bed of white roses. An endless guilt. A terror without name._

_An acute pain that started in his chest and spread everywhere, so sharp he couldn’t breathe._

_°O°O°O°O°_

_Prim dreamt and her dreams were white._

_Lost in a crowd. Shiny silver snowflakes falling from the sky. A hole where her sister should be. A loneliness too strong to bear. A terror without name._

_An acute pain that started in her chest and spread everywhere, so sharp she couldn’t breathe._

_°O°O°O°O°_

_Peeta dreamt and his dreams were gold._

_The charred crust of a forgotten loaf. The impossible heat of the oven. The smell of burned human flesh. A rage strong enough to make his blood boil. A terror without name._

_An acute pain that started in his chest and spread everywhere, so sharp he couldn’t breathe._

_°O°O°O°O°_

_Effie dreamt and her dreams were black._

_Power so strong it corrupted. A goddess of beauty and wrath. The world kneeling at her feet to crush or to spare. A greed too seducing to resist. A terror without name._

_An acute pain that started in her chest and spread everywhere, so sharp she couldn’t breathe._

°O°O°O°O°

Katniss woke up and, for a second, the air was stuck in her lungs. She couldn’t breathe in, she couldn’t breathe out. There was only the terror and the staccato of her heart hammering against her ribcage.

A second later, her brain kicked in and she breathed out. Slowly. Shakily.

She sat up and pushed her dark hair away from her face with trembling hands, her eyes scanning the room for a possible threat. It took her a moment to place the still unfamiliar room. She was at Haymitch’s, nothing was in the house, they were fine. She automatically looked down to check on Prim who was still sleeping even though her legs were battling against the blankets. Buttercup was perched on her sister’s pillow, letting out regular growls.

The cat was staring at something in the corner.

She switched on the lamp, her other hand reaching for the knife she had left on the nightstand… The corner was empty.

“Stupid cat.” she muttered. She looked down at Prim again, waiting for her brain to catch up, to realize her sister _was_ fine. She waited for the dread to disappear, for relief to take over… It never did.

She was still worried.

Biting down on her lower lip, she switched the lamp off and lied back down, staring at the ceiling. After five long minutes, she admitted defeat. She wouldn’t sleep again, not until she was _certain_ everyone else was alright.

She slipped out of bed and out of the room, leaving the door ajar just in case Prim woke up and called out for her. Once in the corridor, she hesitated. Haymitch’s room was further down the left but as worried as she was for him – and she knew it was stupid because he was more than likely _fine,_ Peeta had promised to wait up for him and he would have raised the alarm if her Watcher hadn’t come back from patrol or had been injured – she didn’t want a repeat of the previous night. She didn’t want to know if Haymitch and Effie were _sparring_. She went right instead and crept along the dark hallway to the smaller guest room.

Floorboards cracked under her feet. She would need to learn how to avoid those.

She would just check on Peeta and then go down to get a glass of milk. And maybe she _would_ stop by Haymitch’s room on her way back just to be sure he was still breathing.

The handle turned easily under her palm and she poked her head in the bedroom, expecting to find her friend asleep. She spotted his dark shape on the bed, saw him move, but before she could safely retreat, the light was turned on and she blinked at the sudden change in luminosity.

“Katniss?” he asked, his voice a little rough from sleep.

“Why aren’t you sleeping?” she retorted.

“Nightmare.” he answered – and there was a _pit_ full of unsaid things behind that single word, she could _feel_ them at the way his tone had hardened. “You?”

“Me too.” she confessed.

She walked in and closed the door behind her so they wouldn’t wake up the whole house with their conversation. She didn’t really understand why Peeta was staring when she came to sit on the bed, she was only wearing her pajamas and there was nothing stareworthy about them: just a pair of shorts and a loose faded tee-shirt. She made herself comfortable on the free space on his left, resting her back against the headboard and hugging her legs close to her chest. His jeans had been tossed on the foot of the bed along with his sweater and she didn’t let herself wonder what exactly he was wearing under the sheets. Maybe Haymitch had lent him some pajamas. One that didn’t include a top.

“Slayer dream?” he asked, scrambling to sit up.

They weren’t sitting close enough to touch but she could feel the heat from his bare chest as if she was pressed against him. It was in her head, she decided, like everything else. All in her head.

“I don’t think so.” She shook her head. “Just regular nightmares.”

“Do you…” He hesitated, turned toward her, resting his cheek against the headboard. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Did she? She wasn’t sure. Dread was still coiling in her belly, her tee-shirt was still damp from cold sweat between her shoulder blades and the terror, the abject irrepressible terror, was still beating in her chest like a caged bird.

“Everyone I love was dead.” she whispered after a minute, propping her chin on her knees. She closed her eyes, shivered at the sudden darkness and opened them again. “Prim. Haymitch. My mom. You. Even Effie…”

She could feel him staring.

Uncomfortable and cold, she nudged the blanket with her feet so they were covered.

Did he think she was being ridiculous? Childish? She knew she was. She was sixteen. Hell, she was _the Slayer_. She shouldn’t let nightmares bother her. She shouldn’t…

“You… love me?” he asked eventually and his voice was strangled. Hopeful or maybe grateful, she wasn’t sure.

She flushed crimson. “That’s not… I mean… You’re… _close_ to me. We’re…”

“Friends.” he said quickly. “Yes, of course. I mean… Yes, definitely. But I… I love you too. You should know. I mean…”

Could it get any more awkward?

“What was _your_ nightmare about?”  It was the only thing she could think to ask to change the topic.

She regretted it when his face closed off. He dropped his eyes to the expense of white sheets between them, swallowing hard. “Nothing important.”

He rubbed his forearm without realizing and her gaze fell on the burned scars she had spied one time or two. She wanted to ask about them, she had almost done a few times, but something always made her hold back. She had strong instincts when it came to life or death but she didn’t trust herself when it came to feelings and things like that. The scars seemed to fall into that last category.

He didn’t volunteer any more information and she decided it was alright. She pulled the blanket higher on herself because of the chill in the room and didn’t think much of it when he lied back down to stare at the ceiling, not unlike what she had done earlier.

“Do you think Prim will be okay?” she whispered. “Without our mom, I mean. I didn’t really ask her before… She said she was okay with staying here but…”

She let her sentence trail off.

“I think it will be great.” he  offered in a sincere tone. “Your mom will get the help she needs and Haymitch will look after the two of you.” She scowled and opened her mouth but he was quicker. “ _Not_ that _you_ need looking after. But, you know… It might be good for Prim to have an adult around. She’s still a kid.”

Pacified by that answer, she slowly sank down the bed until her head hit the spare pillow. “If anything happens to her… To _any_ of you…”

“Hey…” he said softly. His hand found hers over the blanket. “You can’t carry the whole world on your shoulders, Katniss.”

She was used to sharing a bed with Prim so, it stood to reason, she should be used to having another body lying next to her but with Peeta… With Peeta it felt different. More dangerous perhaps somehow.

“I think that’s the Slayer’s job description.” she sighed.

“Okay. Then…” He entwined their fingers, she let him. “Maybe I can help you carry it.” There was a beat of silence and he coughed. “You know… In a friendly totally platonic way.”

She couldn’t help it. She snorted and then she chuckled and, before she understood how, she was laughing so hard her belly hurt. The pain that had sat on her chest since she had woken up earlier – that had never left since the previous night really – finally eased.

Peeta chuckled too. “That’s not really a flattering reaction but alright.”

She squeezed his hand. “Thank you. For everything.”

“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.” he promised.

And she believed him.

She knew she needed to go back to her room – for Prim if nothing else and simply because… she was aware staying sent the _wrong_ idea – but she was warm and comfortable and the fear had finally left her, she finally could breathe. She wanted to enjoy it a little while longer.

She didn’t even realize she was falling asleep.

The only thing she was really conscious of was Peeta’s hand in hers.

°O°O°O°O°

Haymitch woke up and, for a second, the air was stuck in his lungs. The pain was excruciating, the terror all encompassing. His ghosts were in various spots around his room, waiting.

The breath came out of his mouth in a long painful sigh and he forced himself to take another inhalation, to make his lungs _work_. It did little to relieve the cramps in his muscles. He was covered in cold sweat, the sheets were soaked with it, and the stench was enough to make his stomach churn.

He blindly reached for the bottle he had left on the nightstand, winced when he remembered he had finished it before going to sleep and dropped it back on the floor. It rolled under the dresser. The noise sounded deafening in the silence of the night.

He tossed his arm over his eyes to block the sight of his ghosts. Sometimes if he ignored them… But he couldn’t shake the dread and fear, it was like a physical weight on his chest – a _painful_ heavy weight – and he took his arm away, staring at the ceiling instead.

The thoughts that battled inside his skull weren’t pretty. A mix of bad memories and flashes of the inevitable torture to come that his imagination was helpfully providing…

A door was opened somewhere in the house, it was followed by the light creaking of some floor boards. Another door opened and closed softly… One of the kids going to the bathroom, probably.

It felt weird to have people living in the house aside from himself.

It felt weird to know he was now responsible for not only one but two girls.

He still wasn’t sure it had been the best choice. He _was_ very sure he would eventually  screw it up one way or another.

He closed his eyes, resolutely ignored the heavy accusative looks of his dead Slayers... _Go away_ , he pleaded at his deranged mind. It wasn’t fair. He was awake. They usually faded when he was awake. He couldn’t take their constant presence. He couldn’t take the bad omen.

If anything happened to Katniss or one of the kids… Or even _Effie_ …

Oh, Snow would kill _her_ for sure. He would take one good sniff at him, figure out he had been sleeping with her and then… Then he would take her apart to see what made _him_ tick.

The faint noise of another door opening and closing came from further down the house but this one made Haymitch alert, his heart beating hard in his chest. He sat up, pricking his ears in the nocturnal silence, trying hard to separate the sound of his own heart from the distant buzz of the fridge and… _There_. The creaking of the stairs.

It _had_ been the front door.

Except he had locked it behind him when he had come home.

He _always_ did. He had locked it when Peeta had greeted him. He was one hundred percent certain.

No vampire could come in uninvited so it wasn’t a vampire. Plenty of demons could break in though.

His hand slipped under his pillow until his fingers closed on the hilt of his old hunting knife. The footsteps came closer and Haymitch sat up, kicking the blankets off his legs so he wouldn’t get tangled in them and die a ridiculous death. He almost dashed for the dresser to grab a pair of pants because he didn’t _really_ want to tackle a demon naked either: there were parts of himself he cared about more than others... However it would be a waste of time and it would cost him the surprise effect. All around the room his ghosts bristled in anticipation of the fight…

His bedroom was locked too. He had turned the key without really thinking about it, desperate to have some _space_ to himself in a house full of kids – and because he preferred sleeping in the nude and didn’t want to accidentally traumatize Prim or Katniss.

He watched in the semi-darkness as the key slowly turned in the lock. _Magic_ , he had time to think before the door opened. He _almost_ tossed the knife. It was only a last split of the moment decision that made him hold back – that or maybe his instinct had registered her presence before his brain did.

“Effie?” he called, not quite lowering the knife just yet.

She stepped inside, in all the glory of a short and very lacy navy blue nightgown, and closed the door behind her. His first concern was that she had crossed the street like that – well, _no_ , his first concern was that she looked just good enough to _eat,_ which might or might not relate to the crossing the street problem if vampires were lurking outside – because it wasn’t exactly _warm_. His third concern hit him a second later and made him frown.

“What are you doing here?” he asked. “Cause if this is a booty call…”

He wasn’t sure he could do booty calls with three kids in the house – which didn’t really bode well for his future sex life.

“I need help.” she half-gasped.

He switched on the small lamp on the nightstand. It filled the room with a soft golden glow and he resolutely ignored the ghosts who had not vanished in the light.

Effie was shaking.

From head to toes she was shaking.

“What’s wrong?” He grabbed the blankets, gestured at her to come closer. When she sat on the edge of the mattress, he wrapped her in his unfortunately sweat soaked sheets and tried to feel her forehead with his free hand. “You feel sick?”

His stomach churned. What if she wasn’t _sick_? What if she was _cursed_? What if Snow had found a way to start on his revenge from the other side of that hell portal? What if it was the Careers who…

“I can’t stop using it.” She sobbed, turning her body so she was tucked against his chest. “I can’t… It hurts too much.”

He automatically gathered her in his arms. “Using what?”

“Magic.” she explained, her voice breaking. He could feel her tears hot against his neck. “I _can’t…_ What if I lose control? What if it takes control of _me_? The Hellmouth… I feel It… I feel It calling… It is trying to take over me… I…”

“ _Wow_.” he cut her off, tightening his embrace. “Slow down, sweetheart. Go back to the beginning.”

Even as he said that, he felt the familiar tingle of her magic washing over him. Not quite unpleasant but more aggressive than usual. It took him a second to realize what she had done – and without a verbal spell either. The sheets were now clean and he didn’t reek of sweat anymore. He supposed it had upset her delicate sensibilities. 

“When we were battling the nexus of ghosts at _the_ _Capitol_ … Do you remember?” she asked.

Did he remember getting his ass thoroughly kicked by a super ghost? “Hard to forget.”

“I tapped into Earth magic because I needed more power and the Hellmouth… I felt it, then. And I think it felt me too. And now it wants me. _It wants me_.” She almost shrieked the last words.

He shushed her, not quite keen to explain to the Slayer who would probably come running if voices were raised what the Art teacher was doing in his bed. Not to mention the naked situation he really needed to correct. “You’re not a black arts kind of witch, Effie. It ain’t gonna get you.”

She curled up tighter, pressed her forehead against his shoulder… “What if it is in my blood?”

He wasn’t sure if it was the late hour, the lack of proper restful sleep or just the judging gazes of his ghosts staring at him but nothing she was saying made sense. “What?”

“My mother… I told you she is a powerful witch.” she whispered. “She is not… She is not what one would call a _good_ witch. She is… She  thinks magic makes us better than simple humans. _I_ am an ambitious person. I… What if I lose sight of what is right? What if I start using magic to… to _hurt people_ or…” 

“Not happening.” he said firmly. “I’d have to kill you.”

She huffed, a hint of arrogance in her tone. “You could not kill me if you tried.”

“Debatable.” he retorted. “Point is, Princess. I don’t wanna kill you and you don’t wanna hurt me so we’re not going _there_. Whatever your mom’s doing with her powers, you’re not like her. You only use magic to help and I’ve never seen you using anything dark.”

“I spent the whole night lighting demons and vampires on fire.” she confessed. “And I _enjoyed_ it. It made me feel… It is _better_ than _sex_. I do not think I let Katniss touch _one_  of those vampires tonight. I just… I felt so powerful… I _enjoyed_ it. And now it’s eating me alive… I can’t stop…”

As if to illustrate her point, small dots of lights, like tiny fairies, started dancing around the room.

Haymitch rolled down on his back and brought her down with him, hoping to distract her. “Better than sex? Now I’m hurt.”

She had instinctively straddled him which made a part of him very happy. He rethought the wisdom of that move when he realized the ghosts still hadn’t faded away. It was a good thing she was lying down on his chest instead of sitting up. It could give the impression this was more innocent than it really was.

To ghosts.

Who weren’t really there in the first place.

He was going crazy.

He rubbed his face.

“Do not joke.” she begged. He could still hear the tears in her voice. “I am _terrified_. I am not _that_ powerful. I am happy not being powerful. I do not want to become my mother.”

“You’ _re_ powerful.” he argued. “You’re just in denial over it.” He sighed and coiled a hand around her nape, already thinking of possible options. They could try to find a spell to curb her powers for a while. Until they found something more permanent. He had friends he could call, magic experts who might be able to help… Short of that, they could contact the closest magical coven… “When did this start?”

He couldn’t believe she had been battling with this since _the_ _Capitol_. It had been months ago and she had only started acting weird that morning.

“Last night.” she offered. “I had… I keep having those nightmares. They are…”

“Painful?” he asked, suddenly alarmed. “Like you can’t breathe?”

She frowned and pushed herself up so she could look at him. “Yes. How do you know?”

Her cheeks were bathed with tears and he instinctively wiped them away. _So much for casual_ , a little voice whispered at the back of his head. “How crazy will you think I am if I tell you I’ve been seeing ghosts since last night? It’s been going on all day. Still going on right now. They scare me _shitless_. I’ve been trying not to embarrass myself with a panic attack all day.”

He hadn’t meant to share _that_ much but instead of looking at him as if he was good to be committed, she actually looked _relieved_. “Me too!” She winced. “Well, I do not see ghosts but the magic… The thirst for it, it scares me to death and I have been panicking about it and…”

“And Katniss and Prim have been acting weird too, right?” he continued, a bit less certain. What did he know of the behavior of teenage girls? Sure, he mentored a few but… He had never been forced to live with them before. “It’s _not_ just _us_.”

“Something is happening to us. _All_ of us.” she confirmed. “It would explain…”

The scream and the crash coming from somewhere inside the house cut her off.

They both bolted out of bed and ran out the door, Haymitch _barely_ remembering to slip on a pair of sweatpants before he followed. He was still hauling them up to his hips when Prim came rushing out of her room, wide eyes and pale face.

“Katniss is missing!” she shouted.

“Were you the one who screamed?” Effie asked, already moving down the corridor because the answer was obvious. They could hear raised voices from the other guest room.

Effie’s hands were glowing gold and Haymitch instinctively grabbed Prim’s arm, tugging her behind him when he followed after the witch. Just in case. He wasn’t sure she was in control of her magic right now – if what she was saying could be trusted, she wasn’t any more in control of her powers than he was of the ghosts who were closing in on all sides.

“Oh my goodness!” Effie exclaimed, once she had pushed the other guest room door open.

Haymitch barreled past her and into the room, mentally reviewing the content of the weapons cache he kept in that particular room – that was the thing with keeping weapons in every room, it was useful in case of an attack but he lost tracks sometimes.

He wasn’t sure what he had been expecting but it _really_ wasn’t to find Katniss kneeling at the foot of the bed, still half tangled in the blankets, and Peeta curled up in a corner wearing nothing but a pair of boxers.

It had _definitely_ not been _that_.

He would have preferred a demon.

A double take was enough to make sure _Katniss_ had clothes on – and he supposed a loose tee-shirt and shorts were better than _nothing_ but still he knew what his teenage self would have thought if Mabel had been in his room in that particular outfit – in fact, he knew _for a fact_ what he would have thought because Mabel _had_ been in that room a lot given that it had been _his_ before he had taken over the master…

“Are you hurt?” Effie asked, rushing to the boy’s side.

Haymitch’s eyes darted back to Peeta who was still shaking and seemed to be struggling to get his breath back.

“I… I don’t want to hurt you.” Peeta stuttered, his blue gaze riveted on Katniss. “I don’t want to hurt you. I don’t…”

“But you didn’t!” Katniss argued. “You just had a nightmare. It’s alright.”

Effie kneeled next to him, placed a glowing hand on his brow, smoothed it down his face. Peeta exhaled and then blinked several times.

“Wow…” the boy said with a sudden loopy smile.

“What did you do?” Katniss demanded to know.

“I am not… _quite_ sure.” Effie admitted, tossing Haymitch a distressed glance. “A calming charm. I believe.”

“You _believe_?” the Slayer exclaimed with a worried frown.

Prim tentatively leaned against his side and Haymitch placed a reassuring hand on the girl’s shoulder without thinking about it.

“He’s fine.” he grumbled. At least he _hoped_ the kid was. He looked high to him. “The _fuck_ happened here?”

“Nightmare.” Katniss repeated.

“I had a nightmare too.” Prim confessed, hugging herself.

The girl’s concern immediately switched targets. “You’re okay?”

Prim nodded.

“We’re all having nightmares.” Haymitch dismissed. “Ain’t what I was asking. What were you doing in his room?”

Katniss blinked and then scowled.

She really could scowl like the best of them.

“I’m not asking you how Effie heard me screaming from the other side of the street, yeah?” she retorted as if it really was the point.

“Effie’s an adult and I ain’t in charge of her so she can sleep wherever she wants.” he snapped.

The witch cleared her throat and shook her hands, keeping her eyes on her fingers, as if hoping the golden glow would go away. “Actually, I just came over for some advice. I _was_ in my house.”

“You came over for some advice in the middle of the night wearing _that_?” Katniss scoffed, gesturing at the blue nightgown Haymitch really hoped he would see again – in another context.

Effie blinked, looked down at herself, and then winced. “ _Oh dear..._ It seems I _did…_ ” She looked up at Haymitch, fright flashing on her face. “I am going crazy…”

“Nobody is going crazy.” he said firmly, _purposefully not_ glancing at any of the ghosts that had somehow appeared in the room. Johanna was snickering silently in the corner. “We’re cursed. Or under influence. Or _something_.” He waved his hand and pointed a finger at Katniss. “Doesn’t mean you’re off the hook. I don’t like you sleeping with boys in my guest room.”

Which was probably the most hypocritical he had ever been in his life.

A Slayer’s life was short. He and Mabel had used that excuse to get into all possible sorts of shenanigans more than once. He had never meddled into any of his Slayers’ love life before.

But he had never actually been forced to _parent_ any of them either.

He told himself he wouldn’t have cared as much if he hadn’t been sleeping – or having nightmares – two doors down the corridor. What he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. What he could _potentially_ hear now…

“I just _fell asleep_.” Katniss spat. “Nothing happened. We’re…”

“Friends.” Peeta mumbled and then laughed as if it was the best joke.

Haymitch studied his Slayer, then the boy and then he sighed, turning his gaze to Effie. “I want some of what you gave him. Seems like a fun place to be.”

Not unexpectedly, Effie glared. “We should hit the books. Figure out what is going on with us. What are the symptoms? Nightmares. Hallucinations.”

“Anxiety.” Katniss added.

Effie nodded. “Dread. Panic.”

“Maybe we’re having a burnout.” he snorted but he didn’t believe it himself. Whatever was wrong with them, it was clearly magical in nature. “Let’s go down to the library.” He squeezed Prim’s shoulder. “You can go back to bed, sweetheart.”

“I’m coming down with you.” the girl protested  at once with a shiver. “I don’t want to be alone.”  

He didn’t try to argue. He wasn’t sure what the kid’s greatest terror was but he wouldn’t have wished facing their worst fear alone to anyone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo something is up after all (and we are not talking about Peeta and Haymitch XD)! Did you like the chapter? Is everlark on the right track? Is Hayffie? Who knows. What are your thoeries?


	5. Chapter 5

Katniss had this ridiculous notion that, in normal houses where mothers didn’t sleep all the time because they couldn’t make themselves care more about their children than their own grief, people ate waffles on Sunday mornings. She wasn’t sure where she had gotten that idea. Too much TV maybe.

She had this ridiculous picture in her head, of the five of them eating waffles in Haymitch’s kitchen, for some reason. They would laugh and be happy like other people – _normal_ people – did.

There were no waffles that morning.

Only the bleak dim light of dawn slowly slipping through the library’s windows, making them all blink and shake themselves a little. They had spent half the night poring over books and they were no closer to determining what was wrong with them – _if_ something was wrong with them.

At least, she figured, stifling a yawn against her closed fist, Effie was dressed now. Although it must have said something about the Art teacher that the dress she was currently wearing wasn’t any longer than the nightgown she had had on the previous night. Saved for Peeta, who had put his clothes back on when he had come down from whatever magic trip Effie had bewitched him with, the rest of them were still in their pajamas.

She could have done _without_ the sight of Haymitch’s bare chest but since the man had already accepted to host her and Prim for an indefinite amount of time, she thought it would be unfair to dictate what he was supposed to wear in his own house.

“Katniss, focus.” her Watcher said without even looking up. “Effie, stop fidgeting.”

Katniss and Effie shared a commiserating look before glaring at the man.

“Please, do _not_ talk to me like this.” Effie huffed.

Haymitch kept staring at his book, lazily switching the page. “Sorry. Don’t let me stop you from burning a hole in my table.”

The witch gasped and took her hand off the wood. Katniss hadn’t noticed – well, it was hard _not_ to notice the glowing hands – but her fingers had left indentations in the wood.

“Oh, I am so sorry!” the woman exclaimed. “And it being mahogany and all!”

She sounded so genuinely dejected that Katniss fought a smirk, meeting Peeta’s eyes over the rim of her book. Peeta looked both amused and very very tired. She supposed they all looked tired though, in all fairness.

“I’m going to make more coffee.” Prim yawned, tossing away the book she had been perusing – a book that Haymitch had _sworn_ didn’t contain anything too traumatizing; her sister had wanted to help and, given that she was concerned too, Katniss hadn’t been able to say no this time.

Even if the thought of her being in any kind of danger…

Terror came back, quick and overwhelming. The pain flared in her chest and she had to blow slowly with her mouth to work through it.

Effie and Peeta watched her with sympathy. They had both done their share of pained breathing in the last few hours. Haymitch was better at hiding his own panic. 

“That’s why she’s my favorite if anyone’s wondering.” Haymitch commented in a casual voice that didn’t fool any of them.

“She is too young to be drinking coffee.” Effie pointed out.

“She doesn’t like coffee. She’ll make herself cocoa.” Katniss muttered and then tossed the book she had been reading on the table. “This isn’t helping.”

 Haymitch closed his book, rubbed his eyes and glanced at the pale light trickling through the windows. “We should hit _Ripper’s_. It should be close to empty by now. Good time to catch her alone.”

“You think this might be related to Katniss’ Slayer dream?” Effie asked. “To the Careers?”

He snorted.  “You don’t?”

His grey eyes flickered to the wooden pathway on the upper floor, tracking something none of them could see. He hadn’t been very talkative about his own problems, he had told them a very vague story about being stalked by ghosts – _fake_ ghosts since none of them could see them and there were no other signs of haunting apparently.

“Even if it’s not them… Maybe Ripper will know something?” Peeta interjected. “I wouldn’t mind a walk… Katniss and I can go…”

He didn’t make it sound like a statement, more like a question. He sought her gaze too.

She knew it was the most logical course of actions. She was the Slayer, it was her job to get the information and getting out of the house _would_ be good but…

“We shouldn’t separate.” she blurted out. “It’s a bad idea. What if something happens to one of us? What if…”

Terror and pain. She took a shaky breath, wincing, and clutched her shirt right over her heart.

“Easy, sweetheart.” Haymitch’s voice was soothing, reassuring, and Katniss made an effort to remind herself the panic was constructed by whatever had a hold over them. “I’m gonna go. Effie’s coming with me. You stay here and keep an eye on that sister of yours, sounds right? If you feel itchy, go down and train for a while. You could show Peeta one move or two. With Prim there to _supervise._ ”

“I think you mean _chaperone_.” Effie corrected in a distracted hum, trying to shake the magic off her fingers again. “Are you certain I should go out in public? I am not sure…”

“You _can_ control yourself.” he countered in a voice that brooked no argument. “I need you with me to distract me from…” He didn’t finish the sentence. He just shrugged. “I need you with me.”

“We shouldn’t separate.” Katniss insisted. “What if we get lost?”

Peeta hesitantly reached out and covered her hand. “We can’t get lost, Katniss. We’ll be here and they are just going to the bar and back.” His face darkened and he suddenly snatched his hand back, searching Haymitch’s gaze. “But maybe I should come with you. I don’t want to stay alone with them. What if…”

“You won’t hurt anyone. Not Katniss. Not Prim. You’re not that kind of person.” Haymitch cut him off firmly before turning to Katniss. “ _Nothing_ ’s gonna happen to any of us if you’re not there to protect us. I can handle myself. So can Effie.” Then he looked at Effie. “The Hellmouth ain’t gonna poison your mind. You ain’t gonna lose control of the magic. And you _ain’t_ turning into a power-hungry monster. And you…” He studied Prim who had just come back with a trail loaded with mugs of coffee. “Nobody’s kidnapping you again and we’re not gonna send you away. I need you to keep that psychopath cat of yours from murdering me.” Prim giggled and he winked at her. “Plus, you make the best coffee so I’ve _got_ to keep you.”

Katniss wasn’t sure how a few words could help so much but they _did_. Maybe because he actually meant them and there was so much _belief_ in all of them that…

“You are not going crazy and they are not here to drag you to hell.” Effie offered softly, reaching out to squeeze his arm. Her hands had stopped glowing golden.

Haymitch flashed her a smirk that didn’t reach his eyes. “We’re taking the bike.”

The witch immediately huffed. “Absolutely _not_. My car…”

“I ain’t driving that _shit_ on wheels again and you ain’t in any state to drive.” Haymitch cut her off. “Besides, the bike’s quicker. I’ve got a spare helmet.”

“But it won’t be glittery pink.” Prim whispered for Katniss and Peeta’s sake only, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

Peeta smiled for the first time that day and fished his phone from his pocket. “I’m ordering it. It’s too good to pass.”

Katniss found herself chuckling with the two of them, leaving Effie and Haymitch to  their bickering. The deal was done anyway. Haymitch told her she had ten minutes to go put on some pants while he went up to get dressed.

“How about some breakfast?” she suggested, eyeing her sister. “You need to eat something.”

“So should you.” Prim pointed out.

“We all should.” Peeta approved. “How about pancakes? I’m pretty sure I saw a ready-mix in a cupboard. It would be better from scratch but I don’t think Haymitch’s got the right stuff.”

The suggestion was met with overall approval and they relocated to the kitchen. Prim and Katniss watched him make the pancake dough, a little impressed even though the ready-mix stuff _did_ seem simple enough that even Effie might have managed it.

They paused to see the two Watchers leave though. If only because Effie looked completely out of place on that bike. Katniss bet Peeta she would freak out and she was a little disappointed when she _didn’t_. Still, the witch clung to Haymitch hard and kept her eyes closed when he started the bike and they could hear her surprised shriek over the roar of the bike when he sped down the street.

All throughout breakfast a part of her worried itself sick over Effie and Haymitch – about what could _happen_ to them – and she could tell both Peeta and Prim were fighting their own inner fears but, all in all, they had a nice enough time. She was almost surprised by that.

Peeta went back to the living-room while the girls excused themselves upstairs to get dressed. Prim was doing her hair in their bedroom, in front of the slightly tarnished mirror on the wall when Katniss came back from the bathroom, her own hair already bound in a hasty braid. She hesitated for a moment and then sat at the foot of the bed.

“What are your nightmares about, little duck?” she asked.

So far, their nightmares had seemed to target either their greatest fears or their deepest insecurities – when the two weren’t related… Haymitch’s guilt, Peeta’s mysterious fear of… _something_ , Effie’s anxiety over her control of magic, her own terror of losing people… But her sister’s sudden fear of abandonment… Did it come from the kidnapping? It had happened months earlier and Prim had sworn she was okay. She had _seemed_ okay. But had Katniss been too hasty to put the incident away? Was it still tormenting her?

Prim didn’t answer immediately. She was doing her hair in an elaborate braided hairdo and she had pins wedged between her lips. “You were going to send me away. Yesterday. The night before yesterday. You wanted to send me away and then you had Mom shipped to that clinic…”

“It’s the best thing for Mom.” Katniss argued, a little defensively. “You agreed. And it’s _different_ , Prim. Mom’s…”

“Mom’s sick.” Prim finished. “I know. But it was a little convenient for you anyway.” Her sister shrugged, avoiding her eyes. “I know it’s not fair that you’ve got to take care of me like that… That it’s not right… And Haymitch… Haymitch has to take care of you now. He’s _got_ to because he’s your Watcher but I’m not…”

“You heard him earlier.” she interrupted again. “You’re his favorite.” She had hoped it would lighten the mood and her sister did smile a little but it didn’t reach her eyes. “And _nothing_ has to change anyway. It’s not because we’re staying here… He’s _not_ our dad, Prim, and he’s not going to be. He doesn’t get a say. I don’t mind taking care of you. Hell, I _love_ taking care of you. I’ll always be here to take care of you. We didn’t move here to get parented. We just moved here because it’s safer.”

Prim finally met her eyes in the mirror and the look on her face was far too serious for a twelve year-old. She didn’t say anything but her thoughts were written there clearly for Katniss to see anyway.

In all honesty, and while she would probably have denied it out loud with fervor, having an adult around who actually _would_ care and might be _willing_ to make some of the daily important decisions didn’t sound _that_ terrible. It scared her in different ways than the idea of losing her loved ones did but, altogether, it also made her feel some relief.

“You should go check on Peeta.” Prim suggest. “I’m almost done.”

Leaving her sister in their room was enough to make her anxiety spark up again. Peeta had been downstairs alone for so long… What if something had happened? What if something had happened to Effie and Haymitch who were so far away and whom _she_ _couldn’t_ _help_?

The pain in her chest was so sharp she could barely breathe.

The library was deserted and she had to fight the panic, she had to make herself walk through every room on the ground floor before finally noticing the open door that led to the basement. She found him there, hitting a saggy punching-bag again and again. He had barely taken the time to bind his hands so he wouldn’t hurt himself, one of the thick bands was already unraveling.

He didn’t seem to hear her coming and since she was naturally discreet, he didn’t spot her until she tapped his shoulder. It was only thanks to her Slayer’s reflexes that she avoided the fist he flung toward her head. His eyes widened and he immediately stepped back, his hands held in front of him. “I’m so sorry. I’m…”

“It’s okay.” she was quick to counter. “I should have called out. You didn’t hit me.”

Peeta’s breath itched painfully, the fear and panic obvious on his face. “I’m so sorry. I thought… I thought hitting something would make me feel better. I just feel so…” A flash of sorrow passed over his face, quickly replaced by disgust. “I feel so _angry_.”

She frowned, almost asked him what he was so afraid of because accidentally hurting other people seemed like a weird terror to have for a boy who, granted had muscles and strength, but who was by all definition _normal_ and rather _nice –_ not to say _gentle_ – on top of it.

“Peeta…” she whispered.

“I’m scared I’m going to _Hulk_ out.” he confessed in a rush of words, pressing his hands against his face. “I’m scared I’m going to hurt someone just because I’m so angry I can’t control myself. I’m afraid I’m going to become…” He shook his head. “I shouldn’t have come down there.”

“You can’t hurt me much.” she pointed out. “I’m stronger. Besides, super fast healing. We can spar if you want.”

He shook his head harder, shooting her a pleading gaze. “I don’t want to risk it.”

“Okay.” She shrugged. “But I can’t look at books anymore. I need a break.”

“We could watch a movie.”  he suggested half-heartedly.

The thought of sitting down for at least an hour and a half made her twitchy. “How about I teach you how to shoot?”

Prim’s voice drifted from the top of the stairs. “Can I learn too?”

Her sister flashed her the grin Katniss could never say no to. She rolled her eyes, a smile stretching her lips. “Okay.”

It took a few minutes to organize. She had to find and select weapons that would suit both Prim’s smaller frame and Peeta’s bulkier one. She finally settled on a supple – but dusty – bow that she found wedged behind a weapon trunk for Prim and a heavier crossbow for Peeta. Then she placed bottles and various objects at different distances in the backyard invaded both by moles and weeds – she regretted a little the fact that Effie’s cleaning spell hadn’t extended to the outside of the house and she made a note to ask the woman later if she could do something about that since she was anxious to use her magic anyway. It would be nice to see where you were going when one wandered out the back.

Teaching Prim and Peeta how to shoot was both funny and aggravating. They did their best to follow her instructions and emulate her stance but they were both hopeless at it. Still, for a moment, not unlike when they had shared breakfast, the distraction seemed to work well enough. When Prim’s arrow grazed her first bottle, she jumped on the spot, stretching her arms up in victory, prompting Katniss and Peeta to start laughing at her enthusiasm. She soon joined in anyway.

They were laughing so hard, Katniss had tears in her eyes and her stomach was hurting in the best way. It was a touch hysterical but it was a nice relief to the tension that had been building since the previous day.

She blamed their fragile state of mind for not hearing the newcomer’s arrival – that and Haymitch’s wild backyard that muffled sounds.

By the time she noticed Gale, it was too late. He was standing there, scowling at the three of them, _glaring_ at Peeta…

“What are you doing here?” she asked. She hated how defensive, how tense she sounded. She had been avoiding her best friend – former best friend? – as much as possible since the talent show and she had no patience to dive into that can of worms right then. 

“I thought you might be in trouble but clearly you’re having the time of your life.” Gale spat, his glare switching targets. The venom in his voice took her aback a little.

“Don’t talk to her like that.” Peeta growled, suddenly standing right next to her.

Gale didn’t have the presence of mind to calm things down – that or he was hitching for a fight. “What’s your problem, Mellark?”

Katniss _barely_ had time to snatch the crossbow from Peeta’s hand before he launched himself at Gale.

The first punch was thrown before she could get in the middle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dum dum dum! It's showdown time! Should we have waffles do you think? Let me know your thoughts!


	6. Chapter 6

Effie hated the bike.

There was something very hot about a man with a bike and there was _definitely_ something very hot in watching Haymitch on that bike but she, personally, hated it. She was certain her hair would be a mess when she would take the helmet off and he was driving so fast and took so many sharp turns that her stomach was in her throat. She was certain they were going to die.

She was so busy worrying about their near certain death that she forgot to worry about her magic.

Although, she mused when the bike finally rumbled to a stop in a nondescript narrow alley, perhaps that had been the point all along.

It took her a second to unlock her arms from around Haymitch’s waist. He was already taking off his helmet and running a hand in his hair in a practiced and unconscious gesture. When he eased off the bike, it swayed under her.

“You’re good?” he asked.

Her arms and legs were cramping, she was pretty sure she was shaking and that was _without_ considering how atrocious her hair must have been. She let out a shaky breath and accepted the hand he offered to help her get off.

The single minute it took her to ascertain she was in one piece, that her hair wasn’t _that_ bad and that her legs would keep on supporting her was enough for Haymitch to space out. His gaze was directed at a specific point behind the bike. Effie glanced there with curiosity but there was nothing to see.

At least for her.

“Haymitch, they are not real.” she reminded him softly.

That was why he had wanted her with him, wasn’t it? To distract him? To keep him grounded?

He didn’t answer her, his eyes were riveted to that spot of empty air, his breathing sounded painful… She remembered that pain very well. She had been experiencing it more and more since the previous night. Every time she let herself go into panic mode…

She placed a hand on his shoulder and used it as leverage to raise on tiptoes. The contact was enough to jolt him out of his hallucination but she didn’t stop there, she pressed a kiss on his lips, probing at his bottom lip with her tongue until he opened his mouth for her, until he wrapped his arms around her… Once he responded to her kiss, she drew back a little.

“Better?” she asked.

He blinked, licked his lips and snorted. “Yeah.”

“Good.” She grinned. She felt foolish about it but she couldn’t really help herself. “Then, let’s get to work.”

She nodded at the nondescript door of the bar and he gave a grim nod back. “Follow my lead.”

That was not something she liked to hear but she would make do, she decided, if only because it was her first visit to the demon bar and he knew the place and its rules better than she did.

It might have been her first time at _Ripper’s_ but it wasn’t her first demon bar by far.

She spared a second to wonder why all of them had to look so _terribly_ shabby with their flickering pale lights and the strong smell of something unpleasant in the air… Why didn’t demons like a good coffee shop or even a pretty tea parlor? Something clean, respectable and where she wouldn’t have been scared to _touch_ anything for fear of staining her clothes.

Haymitch headed straight to the bar, completely ignoring the few patrons who seemed to recede in the shadows as soon as they spotted him. A couple of people she suspected to be vampires immediately stood up and disappeared through a door at the back. She supposed it led to the town sewers. That was how most vampires moved around during the day.

“Ripper.” Haymitch greeted without much warmth. There was no warmth either on the face of the woman who was tending the counter. She looked irritated. Again, if he noticed, he didn’t show it. “Heard anything I should know?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” the half-demon grumbled, wiping off a glass with a kitchen cloth in what must have been the greatest cliché of every bartender ever – if not a health regulation infraction.

“Look.” Haymitch said, slamming both hands on the counter. His lips were set in a tight line, his grey eyes were cold and dark, and, for the first time, Effie thought he looked frightening. “I’ve got two scared kids, one very _very_ volatile Slayer, a cranky witch and I’ve been seeing dead people for two days. You tell me if you want to push me with those odds, Ripper.”

The old woman studied him for a long time and then her gaze finally travelled to Effie, taking her in, gauging her maybe, before darting back to the few customers left. The half-demon looked as if she had swallowed something sour. “We’re closing.”

Some of them didn’t need to be told twice and rushed out the door but, of course, because demons _always_ have to be difficult the two Vahrall demons sitting at a booth in a corner decided to make things difficult. Effie hated Vahrall demons. Not only were they ugly with their scaly grey face and their medieval gear but they were tall and freakishly strong and that was without forgetting the razor-sharp fingernails. Fortunately, they were also stupid.

“We do not bow to the vow of humans.” one of them hissed, disgust and hatred in his voice.

Effie’s whole body shuddered. Something in her, something deep and dark and _pulsing_ revolted against the outrage. She could hear it in her head again. The tempting chant of the Hellmouth, promising power beyond her dreams. The words left her mouth without her consent and echoed in the now empty bar with a power she hadn’t meant to display. “You will bow to _mine_.”

She immediately clamped her mouth shut, resolutely ignored the tempting voice in her head, the sweet throb of dark magic that was _just_ at her fingertips…

“Sweetheart.” Haymitch called, his voice measured. He didn’t reach out for her but he pulled out the cutlass from his belt. “Remember who you are, yeah? This is all a trick. You’re a good witch. You’re stronger than this.”

She couldn’t suppress the surge of her own powers. Her hands glowed golden and it was all she could do _not_ to lash out. She basked in the soft halo and the Vahrall demons seemed to hesitate. For a good second.

Then, obviously, they charged despite Ripper’s frantic cries to take it outside.

Haymitch immediately rushed ahead, planting his body between Effie and the two demons, giving her the range she needed to work her magic. She chose to target the demon on the right because he was about to bash Haymitch’s head in with a club.

It was easy.

_So_ easy.

She outstretched her hand and the demon flew off despite his weight. He slammed against the far wall and frost immediately covered him from head to toes, turning him into an ice statue. She turned back to the fight but Haymitch had that well in hand. He was avoiding the direct hits of the demon, letting him charge only to slash at his back once he had crashed in a table or a chair… They were leaving a lot of destruction in their wake.

“Should I finish this or will it hurt your manhood?” she joked, trying to sound normal. Teasing. Funny. Not like she was barely holding on by a finger to a very scary cliff. Not like she was about to plummet in a sea of darkness.

“Give me a second.” he retorted, a bit out of breath “We can’t all be a magical goddess.”

He tripped the demon who landed flat on his face, encumbered by his bulk and the weight of his armor, and he slammed the cutlass down, pinning the now dead Varhall to the floor in a puddle of dark sticky blood. He had some on his clothes and there were quite a few gashes on his face and arms.

“Goddess?” she repeated when he pulled out the cutlass and wiped it clean on the demon’s clothes. Something in her, something that _terrified_ her, liked that moniker a little too much. She took a deep breath, not quite surprised when it _hurt_.

“Don’t let that go to your head.” he snorted, jerking his chin in the direction of her ice sculpture. “That one’s dead?”

She winced. “I am not sure. I don’t think I should be killing anything right now.”

She didn’t explain why but she apparently didn’t need to tell him she was teetering on the edge because he nodded his understanding. “Unthaw his head, yeah? They’re not the kind I’m comfortable letting hang out in town.”

She did as he wished, not surprised at all when he beheaded the demon. It was messy and all the while Ripper protested about her bar, the damages, the cost of the repairs and Haymitch’s apparently recurrent tendency to trash her business. They both pretended they didn’t hear her.

When he finally turned back to the half-demon cowering behind the bar, he was even more frightening than before, half covered in dark blood, and Effie briefly wondered if the whole killing thing had been purely for _effect_.

“So.” Haymitch snapped. “You want me to take off the other arm or you’re gonna tell me what you know?”

Ripper glared at him. “I don’t know anything.”

Haymitch’s jaw clenched. “Maybe I should just let my witch here burn the bar down. Told you she’s cranky. Bad time of the month.”

“Careful.” Effie hissed. “I might burn _you_ down.”

He shot her an amused look and a smug smirk. “You’d miss me.”

“I am not certain.” she huffed.

“Can you go flirt somewhere else?” Ripper snapped, placing her only fist on her hip in a crossed gesture that looked oddly asymmetrical because of her missing arm. “I swear I didn’t hear anything. Much.” She made a face. “Maybe a rumor. You know how it is. A Fyarl tells a vampire who tells another vampire who tells a vengeance demon…”

“Perhaps you could get to the point.” Effie helpfully suggested, staring at her golden glowing hands. She couldn’t will the magic away. Panic was coiling in her belly and it hurt to breathe. A part of her was convinced she was going to die if she didn’t embrace the Hellmouth, if she didn’t follow in her mother’s footsteps, if…

“Might have heard a fear demon got it into his head to off the Slayer.” Ripper sighed.

“Not the Careers?” Haymitch insisted. “Heard nothing about them? Or Snow?”

The half-demon glared at him. “Told you already. If I hear something about that, I’ll let you know. I don’t want to go back to those days any more than you do. Not many people do. Snow wasn’t a kind ruler, boy.” She shook her head. “Only your mother…”

“Don’t talk about my mother.” Haymitch spat, his eyes darting to the side, betraying exactly who he was seeing in that bar.

“What sort of fear demon?” Effie asked, trying to remain focused. “Or which one?”

There were so many…

“A Lachnoc.” Ripper reluctantly answered. “That’s all I know. Now get out of my bar.”

“Rude.” Effie clucked her tongue. “I assure you I have little love for your establishment. You should seize the opportunity to redecorate.”

She headed to the door, only glancing back once to make sure Haymitch was following her. She blinked at the sunlight outside, it seemed too bright after the bar’s dull neon lamps.

“I am not entirely familiar with Lachnoc demons.” she admitted. “But the name should considerably facilitate the researching process and… _Don’t_.”

She tried to tear her glowing hand out of his, terrified sick her magic would hurt him.

“It’s alright.” he promised in a soothing voice, squeezing her glowing fingers. “It’s okay. All good. Here. See? You ain’t hurting me. You’re in control.”

“I am really _not_.” she breathed out, thinking back to how _easy_ it had been to send that demon flying. Usually, it was the kind of feat that would have left her with a nosebleed at the very least. At the moment, it simply left her yearning for _more_. If she gave in to it, she would perform bigger and bigger spells until the magic burned her alive. “Please…”

But instead of releasing her, he brought her hand to his face. She understood what he wanted and, with a blink, she healed the small gashes. And, because it was disgusting and she was expected to hold tight to him when they would go back on that bike, she also made the blood from his clothes disappear. He smirked. “See? White magic. _Healing_ magic.”

“You should tell that to the Varhall I just iced.” she countered, leaning against his chest. “I am losing…”

“That’s just the demon messing with your head. Just like my ghosts.” he cut her off. “You’re fine.”

“My mother was probably in control at some point too, you know.” she whispered. “She still is. That is the frightening part. She _chooses_ to use dark forces. What if…”

“You ain’t like that.” He pressed a kiss against her hair. “Let’s grab breakfast before we go back home, yeah? I could use the break.”

“Katniss will worry.” She frowned. “And…”

“I’m gonna text the girl, the kids can get a head start on the researching. They can survive without us for half an hour.” he offered. “And you’re _good_. Look.”

She did look and her hands had stopped glowing, the dread had disappeared and it didn’t hurt that much to breathe. She pursed her lips and tilted her head to better look at him. “Are you distracting me on purpose?”

His smirk was impish and there was a twinkle in his eyes. “I’ve got more tricks to distract you, you know. We could skip breakfast and find a motel too… That comment you made about magic being better than sex’s still hurting my feelings a little.”

She whacked his shoulder, unable to fight her own smile. “Ruffian.”

He handed her the spare helmet. “So that’s a no to the sex, yeah?”

“I could kill for a muffin.” she replied very seriously.

He rolled his eyes but the smirk was still stretching his lips and he got on the bike, leaving her very little time to settle behind him before kicking it to life. “Let’s feed you, then.”

They went to _Greasy Sae’s_. So early on a Sunday, the diner was practically deserted. They picked a booth in a corner and Effie spent the five minutes necessary for Haymitch to send his text to the children staring at her own hands, scared they would start glowing again. She was so busy dreading losing control that she startled when Haymitch’s fingers covered hers.

He took them away before she could say anything. The reason became obvious when a black-haired woman in a waitress uniform stopped next to their table with a bright smile. “Hey, Haymitch! Early morning?”

“Something like that, yeah.” Haymitch snorted.

The conversation evolved into chit-chat Effie had zero interest listening in. The tag on the woman’s chest informed her she was named Hazelle and the way she smiled and tilted her head every time Haymitch cracked a – not so funny – joke told her she wanted to sleep with him. Haymitch was uncharacteristically charming, flirty even.

Effie grabbed a small paper packet of sugar and started banging it on the table, a little irritated to be so easily ignored by both parties.

“Oh, by the way…” Hazelle frowned, suddenly turning serious again. “Everything’s alright with Aster and the girls? We haven’t seen them around the trailer park and Gale’s in a state… I told him to wait and see at school on Monday but…”

Hadn’t the Hawthorne boy mentioned that his mother was working at Sae’s dinner? Or perhaps it was Katniss who had told her that. Anyway, the dots weren’t difficult to connect and Effie privately thought it was no wonder she didn’t like the woman if she had raised that particular child.

“They’re fine.” Haymitch hurried in reassuring her. “Aster’s gonna be at a clinic for a while… You know… It was time. The girls are living with me for now.”

“Oh, that’s good.” Hazelle nodded with a smile that made it very hard for Effie not to roll her eyes. _Of course_ , it was good. The woman clearly thought Haymitch to be some sort of knight in shining armor who loved children and she probably had those in spare. Effie could already tell the woman was picturing him becoming the new father to her brood. 

“I am _loathe_ to interrupt your catching up but _may_ we order?” she cut in. They were wasting time and she hated the thought of the children alone when they were all battling their inner demons.

The look Hazelle tossed her would have chilled a charging Vahrall demon on the spot. Effie simply flashed her her best polite smile and didn’t even blink. She could feel the telltale tingling in her fingertips though and the urge to _hurt_ that woman who was clearly coveting what was _hers_ was difficult to suppress. Hazelle _did_ take their orders though, once it was clear Haymitch wouldn’t jump to her defense, and Effie only allowed herself to breathe again once she was gone.

“ _Well_. I understand why you come here so often.” she huffed.

The smirk on his lips was more amused than annoyed. “Don’t read me the jealous act, sweetheart.”

“Jealous?” she repeated with a scorn. “I am certainly _not_ jealous.”

“Good.” He shrugged. “Cause she’s pretty but you look like a model so there’s really no need to compare.”

There was a compliment underneath that awkward turn of phrase so she let it rest. Still, she pursed her lips and banged the small paper sugar packet harder against the table. “She wants to sleep with you, in case you were wondering.”

“Wasn’t really.” The smirk widened. “Not really interested right now.”

The way he looked at her told her exactly who he was interested in sleeping with and she relaxed a little, just in time for Hazelle to bring the coffee they had ordered as well as the food. Effie’s muffin looked a bit stale but it wasn’t worth complaining about. She waited until the woman was back behind her counter to speak again, making sure to keep her voice low. “We agreed on casual.”

And she wasn’t certain they had been doing a very good job at keeping it thus.

“Yeah.” he said, a bit subdued, before stabbing his eggs with his fork. “Ain’t like this is a date or some _shit_ , you know. You can relax. Just thought we needed some air before we go back to the house. The kids are good but sometimes… They’re a bit much, you know?”

She _did_ know. She loved them but she did know.

“Of course it is not a date.” she retorted. “Dates do not involve demons.”

His eyebrows shot up, his mouth twitching in bitter amusement. “All the dates I’ve ever been on had demons.”

She shook her head, amused despite herself. “It is sad.”

“Guess it is.” he answered, a little too seriously. “Look, Effie…”

“You said I was your witch.” she interrupted him. “Back at the bar. You said _my witch.”_

He remained silent for a long time, his eyes on his plate, eating to forego answering… She nibbled on her muffin, drinking sips of coffee to make it a little more edible… She didn’t try to rush him. Somehow, she knew it wouldn’t be helpful at all.

“All the women I’ve ever got attached to one way or another died.” he declared after a while. “Doesn’t help that most of them were Slayers…”

“Mags is still alive.” she pointed out. “And last I heard she is recovering.”

“Yeah. Talked to her last week.” A real smile touched his lips but it was short lived. “She can’t speak well yet. Or long. But Finnick’s finally got off his high horse long enough to keep me updated so… Progress.” He waved his hand, dismissing that line of conversation. “Ain’t the point. The point is…”

The point was obvious at the way his eyes had drifted to the side and remained riveted there, at the way his breath hitched and remained stuck in his chest…

“I am not leaving.” she interrupted before he could renew his ridiculous request.

He licked his lips, took a deep painful breath, and slowly redirected his gaze to her. There was an intensity there, she wasn’t sure she liked. “At the very least, you should consider leaving _me,_ Princess. I meant what I said. Snow comes back… We’ve got a twisted game going on. He finds out we’re sleeping together, casual or not, you’re the first he’s gonna target and I… I don’t want you to get hurt.”

He rushed the words out and seemed at a loss once he was done. He looked down at his plate, grabbed another forkful only to drop it down and push the whole thing away, his appetite clearly spoiled.

The muffin wasn’t appealing enough and she was too aware that Haymitch’s phone hadn’t pinged back with an answering text from the children acknowledging what they had found out.

“ _Que sera sera.”_ she whispered. He frowned but she dismissed the implicit question with a flick of her wrist. “I know our life is dangerous, Haymitch. I can take care of myself.”

“You’ve got no idea what Snow’s capable of.” he argued. “If…”

“He is not free yet.” she cut him off. “Our current objective is to stop the Careers before it can get to that and we should focus on it.” She softened a little. “I think we should go home. How delightful as this non-date was.”

He rolled his eyes but his shoulders lost some of their tension. “Fine.”

He tossed a couple of bills on the table and stood up. She couldn’t resist the urge to tease him. “Oh, you are paying. How gentlemanly of you…”

“Stop.” he grumbled, leading her out with a hand at the small of her back. She wasn’t even sure he realized what he was doing so she kept it to herself, fighting the grin off her lips. When they were at the bike, he put the helmet back on her head himself and made sure it was clipped before rapping his knuckles on top of it. He looked serious again. “Fate’s a _bitch_ and I’ve got a bad gut feeling.”

Fate… She thought back about what she had confessed the other night, about how her coming there and meeting him so many years after the time she might have become the Slayer felt too much like it was all part of a plan… Would it mean her death? Was there really any point in wondering?

“It might be the Lachnoc demon.” she pointed out and then flashed him a teasing smile. “Or that terrible food your friend just served us.”

For a second, she thought he was going to lose his temper but then he simply snorted. “Let’s go home and fight ourselves a fear demon.”

“You _do_ have weird date ideas.” she mocked, letting him climb on the bike first so she could slip behind him.

“Not a date.” he insisted. “No strings.”

“Well…” she hummed, propping her chin on his shoulder right as he was about to kick the bike to life. “I _am_ wearing a G-string actually.”

She hadn’t known bikes could stall and it was a little scary but he got the control back quickly and spared her a look that was half-angry and half-aroused.

She supposed it wasn’t really clever to distract him when he was driving that death trap and he had a right to be annoyed.

In retaliation, he went even faster on the way home and all she could do was cling to his waist and shut her eyes tight. She was relieved when the bike finally stopped again but it was short-lived because of the screaming coming from the backyard.

She and Haymitch didn’t even share a glance before rushing straight there, weapons and magical fireballs ready to fly…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know the saying: people who slay demons together stay together ;) How did you like their date? Are they still casual? Is Haymitch smooth? Are the most badass or what?Let me know your thoughts!


	7. Chapter 7

6.

Encouraged by Prim’s frantic shouts for the two of them to _stop_ , Katniss tossed aside Peeta’s crossbow and dove into the fray. She tried to pull Peeta off Gale but he flung her off with a distracted shrug of his arm as if she didn’t weight anything – and as if she didn’t have supernatural strength.

She fell flat on her ass and stared at the brawling boys who were rolling in Haymitch’s overgrown weeds, throwing punches at each other. Her pride was smarting because she _should_ have been able to stop them, worse though was the dread that made her stomach churn. What if one of them got seriously hurt? What if they died? What if…

Breathing became painful, every breath a sharp stab to her lungs…

She could have wept in relief when she heard the roar of the bike in the distance – in part because she knew her Watcher would take charge and in part because that meant the two teachers were most likely alright. She sat there and stared, wincing in sympathy when Peeta landed a particularly brutal hit to Gale’s cheekbone.

Haymitch and Effie barged into the backyard, weapons blazing as if they were expecting a huge fight against a demon army. They both froze at the same time.

“What the hell?” Haymitch spat, glaring at the boys who were still fighting and then at Katniss. “You’re gonna get off your ass any time soon?”

Katniss didn’t answer. She couldn’t get past the thought that Peeta or Gale was going to get hurt because she wasn’t strong enough to stop it.

Faced with her lack of reactivity, Haymitch cursed and sheathed his cutlass, glancing at the witch. “ _You_ wanna do something or you’re gonna sit down and enjoy the show like this one?”

Effie pursed her lips in reprobation and slowly extinguished the fireballs that were still burning in her palms. It looked difficult. Almost painful. After a couple of seconds, she shook her head. “I cannot guarantee I would not seriously hurt one of them.”

“Fine, then.” Haymitch grumbled and stepped forward. He didn’t kid around. He grabbed the back of Gale’s collar and pulled him off Peeta, narrowly avoiding an elbow in the guts. “Now, Peeta…” he warned.

Peeta cut him off with a war cry when he ran and tackled Gale, tearing him right off Haymitch’s grip.

Katniss still didn’t move. Peeta looked enraged, _possessed…_ At that second, she was half-certain he would kill Gale.

And then water splashed everywhere, making Effie jump out of range with a panicked yelp. It was cold and the pressure was so high that it hurt when it directly hit Katniss’ arm. It had the desired effect on the boys though: they stopped fighting to jerk away from the stream of water.

They all turned toward Prim who stood next to the outer wall of the house, the hose held firmly in her tiny hands, a deep annoyed scowl on her face. “If you don’t stop, I will do it again.”

Katniss gaped at her sister, Gale and Peeta stared, Effie quirked her eyebrows up…

But Haymitch laughed and the sound was so rough and shocking that it jolted them all out of their shock.

“Oh, you’re _definitely_ my favorite, sweetheart.” the Watcher chuckled. “Alright. Back inside before you all catch your death. You too.” That last part was directed at Gale with a sneer. “I’ll get you some dry clothes.”

“No need.” Effie objected and waved her hands.

Next thing Katniss knew, her wet clothes were dry again. She got back to her feet, about to thank her for her help – because it _was_ a neat trick – when Gale took several steps back, pulling his suddenly dry shirt away from him. “Don’t you _fucking_ do magic on me!”

Haymitch’s sneer deepened but before he could say anything, Effie sniffed disdainfully. “Very well.”

A careless spin of her finger and water poured down on Gale.

Katniss bit down on her bottom lip to stop herself from laughing. It wasn’t _that_ funny and there really wasn’t anything amusing about the whole situation.

There was a glint of murder in her – former? – best friend’s eyes, though.

“I’m sorry.” Peeta whispered, breaking the tension. He was staring at his hands, his bruised knuckles… “I’m sorry, I… I don’t know… I…”

Haymitch’s face softened as he reached for his shoulder. Peeta flinched very badly when he made contact. “It’s alright, kid. Just a demon messing with your head.”

“Alright?” Gale hissed. “He almost killed me!”

Peeta’s whole body shuddered and he ran a hand over his face, immediately wincing when it bumped against his injuries. “I’m sorry.”

“You should not have been here anyway.” Effie pointed out to Gale, her gaze darting from him to Katniss. “Are _you_ alright, dear?”

“I…” she started but she didn’t have time to finish explaining that she felt shell-shocked for no good reason that she could see.

“ _I_ shouldn’t be here?” Gale interrupted. “Katniss’s _my_ friend. Who are _you_?”

“My _fucking_ guest. On _my_ fucking property.” Haymitch spat. “Not to mention a _fucking_ teacher in your _fucking_ school so watch your tone, boy.”

“Can we all stop screaming?” Prim demanded, still armed with her hose. The threat must have convinced everyone because Haymitch lifted both hands up in a peace offering and Effie suggested they all stepped inside and nobody objected.

“How did you think about that?” Haymitch asked her sister, leading her inside the house with an arm wrapped around her shoulders.

Prim’s cheeks had grown slightly pink. “It works on Buttercup when he fights with strays.”

Haymitch laughed again. At least someone was having a good day, Katniss mused  bitterly. She hung back, not quite surprised when Gale stubbornly stood his ground, arms crossed over his soaked clothes.

“I’m sorry.” Peeta said again, looking miserable and not meeting either of their eyes, before disappearing inside. Effie lingered for a couple of seconds, long enough to share a glance with Katniss. Her lips were pursed and her expression disapproving when she closed the backdoor behind her.

Katniss sighed and sat down on the steps that led to the back porch, watching Gale warily. “Why did you come here?”

“You’re kidding, right?” he scoffed. “Your mom’s gone, the trailer’s empty, you and Prim are nowhere to be found… You don’t answer my texts, your sister doesn’t answer my brother’s… I was _worried_ , Katniss.”

Guilt gnawed at her guts but she pressed her lips firmly together, reminding herself that there was a reason she hadn’t called Gale in the first place. “You were going to use magic on me, to steal my powers away.”

“Not this again.” he sighed, sounding tired and exasperated all at once. “I just wanted to protect you. You…”

“The Seam might not be safe at all soon.” she cut him off. She found she was both tired and frustrated by the empty excuses he kept presenting her with. “You should take your family and go.”

Gale studied her for a long time. “If it’s not safe, we should _all_ leave. My family, you and Prim… We could make it, Catnip.”

Wasn’t it exactly what she had had in mind just two nights earlier? Leave? Run away? Protect her loved ones and _hell_ to the rest?

They had made their choice though…

She had made her choice…

Come hell or high water, she was staying with Haymitch. She was going to do her duty, make sure her sister had a world to live in that wasn’t infested with vampires and demons.

“I’m not going anywhere.” she answered. And it was only once she had said those words aloud that she actually _believed_ them, let them sink in… And the panic didn’t come. “Prim and I are going to live here with Haymitch for a while.”

Gale shook his head. “This is a mistake.”

She shrugged. “Maybe. But it’s mine to make.”

Gale stared at her for a long time and then slowly crossed the distance between them. When she didn’t protest, he slumped down next to her on the step. “I can’t help but think you’re going to get yourself killed.”

“Eventually.” she whispered.

She had read a few Watchers journals by now. She knew what to expect. If she was good, the best of the best, she would last a few years. And she _would_ fight, of course she would, for Prim if nothing else, but realistically she knew her chances weren’t good to even last that long.

“I’ll fight with you.” he offered.

She scowled. “That didn’t work out that well.”

“Katniss…” He hesitated, reached for her hand… “I lov…”

“Don’t.” she snapped. “ _Don’t_.”

He had kissed her right after telling her that she wasn’t cut out to be a Slayer, that she wasn’t _capable_ of doing the job she had been _called_ by fate for. And now he would tell her he loved her right after telling her she should quit while she was ahead – _alive_ – and she didn’t want to hear it. She _didn’t_ want to.

Gale wanted her to choose him, it came down to that. And it wasn’t a choice she could make right then.

He slowly let go of her hand, linked his fingers together and stared at them hard. There was blood on his knuckles. Peeta’s blood. It made her angry. Even if, really, it was Peeta who had started the fight.

“Is this about Mellark?” he asked slowly.

“It’s about _me_.” she hissed. “That’s what you don’t seem to get. Peeta has nothing to do with it.”

Gale’s gaze traveled up to her face. Her cheeks were _burning_ but she stubbornly kept staring at the overgrown yard and the makeshift targets they had been using to practice their aim.

“I don’t believe you.” he said quietly. “But when you need me, I’ll be there. Be it for a ride out of town or because you need another archer.”

She wanted to give the right answer to that but, as usual, the words weren’t forthcoming. In the end, faced with her silence, he nodded to himself, stood up and left the way he had come.

She rubbed her eyes and told herself it was from lack of sleep and not because she wanted to cry. There was _nothing_ to cry about.

She stood up, took a deep breath, squared her shoulders and went back inside. The kitchen was empty, she followed the sound of voices to the library, not quite surprised to find Haymitch pulling books from the shelves and handing them to Prim so she could pile them on the big round table. Peeta was sitting on the side, facing Effie whose hands were glowing gold again. The witch was healing his injuries.

“Do you _ever_ check your phone?” Haymitch spat in her direction once he had spotted her.

“Pot meet kettle. You are both black.” Effie muttered. Then she hissed and took her hands away from Peeta’s face, shaking her fingers. “I am _so_ sorry, darling, I seem to be having some troubles containing my magic again… I do not want to accidentally hurt you…”

“It’s fine, Effie. It already feels better.” Peeta answered in a dull voice. “Thanks.”

“It was not your fault.” the woman whispered. “You were under demonic influence.”

“Then why did it feel so good?” he retorted.

“Oh trust me, I cursed people before and it felt _very good_ indeed. Some people just get under your skin the wrong way…” Effie sighed and then winced. “Plus, of course, _demon._ It feels good only to make you feel worse later. _”_

“What’s with the phone?” Katniss frowned. “Did you find something ? Do you know if the Careers…”

“Ain’t the Careers. It’s a Lachnoc demon.” Haymitch cut her off. “Which I texted you about so you could get a head start on research.”

“I haven’t checked my phone in a while.” she admitted grumpily. “It’s upstairs. I’m gonna go grab it. Peeta, want to come with me?”

She wanted a word with him in private. To make sure he was alright and to find out what had happened outside.

“No.” Haymitch snapped, slamming the next book on the pile in Prim’s arms so hard the girl stumbled. He flashed her an apologetic wince but his face didn’t soften. “No more boys upstairs.” Then, his eyes darted to Peeta and he amended. “Unless you’re staying over. Okay. No more boys in _your_ bedroom. Or girls in his bedroom. Nobody goes into any bedroom that _ain’t_ theirs from now on.”

Katniss blinked. It took a few seconds for the whole thing to sink in and then she sneered because it was unfair. She hadn’t done _anything_ wrong and Haymitch had _no right_ to try to parent her like _that_. “Does the rule apply to Effie too?”

“You can have Effie in your bedroom.” he deadpanned. “No problem.” She glared at him and opened her mouth but he pointed at the stock of books on the table. “Lachnoc demon. Let’s kill it before it kills us, yeah?”

There was a long silence and then Effie cleared her throat and grabbed her IPad, presumably to search for the demon in question. Peeta ducked his head and grabbed one of the old dusty books. After a moment of hesitation, Prim put her pile of books down and picked one at random. Haymitch immediately snatched it away, looked over his selection and handed her another one Katniss supposed to be more child friendly.

“I’ve got him.” Effie announced a few minutes later. “Lachnoc demon.” She skimmed through the text, her finger flying over the tablet and then made a face. “Immaterial unless forced to manifest through a ritual. Oh… Absolutely _not_ nice. It seems the sharp pain we experience is the demon slowly eating away at us through our panic… Preys suffer a slow agonizing death… Brings forth a person’s worst fear and plays on it until the subject grows obsessed and loses their mind…”

“Nice.” Haymitch mumbled, his grey eyes darted to the side where there was nothing but empty air. At least for Katniss. She supposed he was seeing some dead people from his past.

She didn’t envy him.

Her fears of losing everyone didn’t, at least, throw back her failures in her face.

“How do we kill it?” Peeta asked, sounding far more serious than usual. Then again, it had become personal for him.

Effie was silent for a moment longer as she read through the entry. “The first step would be to make him corporal. After that… Well… I suppose some arrows and a sharp blade would do the trick.”

Haymitch nodded. “Start grabbing what you need for the ritual. Peeta, help her. I’m gonna go get a good sword. Katniss, get your bow. Prim, go upstairs and don’t come out of your room.”

Prim, to Katniss’ relief, didn’t discuss the order. She scampered upstairs after a whispered request for her to be careful. The moment she was out of the room and Effie and Peeta left to grab whatever magic stuff they needed from the witch’s house however, Katniss felt the panic rise so hard she couldn’t breathe anymore.

Separating was the _worst_ idea.

“Haymitch…” she called in a strangled voice.

But Haymitch didn’t answer her. Not even when she fell to her knees because every time she breathed in, sharp daggers stabbed her lungs. She clawed at her own throat, desperate for some air…

Black dots danced in front of her eyes…

She was going to pass out.

She was going to pass out and because of that, everyone else was going to die.

°O°O°O°O°

Haymitch rushed down the stairs to the basement where he kept the special weapons, the _good_ weapons.

He regretted it the moment he let the door slam shut behind him and the lights flickered.

He forced himself to keep moving, to reach for the sword that was hanging on the wall… It had been his mother’s weapon of choice and he had used it enough times over the years… He preferred knives but he would need enough range to distract the demon until Katniss could work her magic with her arrows. A sword seemed like the right choice and he needed the emotional attachment to this one because…

Because the moment his fingers closed around the hilt, the ghost of his mother appeared right next to him, close enough that he would have felt her breath on his face if there had been a breath left in her body.

There was an angry sneer on her face.

He took a few hasty steps back, telling himself she wasn’t real, that none of them were real…

And yet they were _all_ there, encircling him, fencing him in… Various expressions of rage and betrayal on their faces… He whirled on himself, tried to find a breach in the circle… Jo was snickering in a cruel silent way. His brother’s face turned into a vampire’s and flashed him his fangs… Mabel had the familiar bloodthirsty glint in her eyes she would sometimes get after a particularly violent fight… They were all looking at him like he was the enemy.

Seven Slayers and one vampire.

He was the enemy.

He was going to die.

They were going to drag him straight to hell.

He was going to die.

He couldn’t breathe anymore.

The pain was sharp.

Too sharp.

Daggers in his lungs.

He fell to his knees.

He was going to die.

°O°O°O°O°

The moment she closed the bedroom door, Prim wished she hadn’t obeyed. She tried the handle but it wouldn’t move under her palm. She was trapped. Alone. Forgotten.

Nobody would come for her.

She was going to die there.

Alone.

She tried the window but it was stuck.

She worked herself up into a full panic and she couldn’t breathe anymore… It hurt too much.

Every time she breathed in, it felt like someone was stabbing her in the chest. Daggers in her lungs.

She fell against the wall, slid to the floor…

She didn’t get back up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gale just experienced the friend zone XD 
> 
> So... Are we in troubles yet? Let me know your thoughts!


	8. Chapter 8

The front door remained open behind Peeta as they came jogging into her house but Effie didn’t comment since they would not be there long enough for it to matter. She wasn’t sure where the sudden _urgency_ was coming from but she was eager to start the ritual and dispatch the demon. The prospect of doing actual magic – _powerful_ magic – had her blood boiling with anticipation. The familiar hum of her power was turning into a throb a little too painful to ignore.

“I will need coarse salt for the protection circle.” she said, heading straight for the living-room. “There is some in the kitchen cupboard.”

She kept her most magical supplies handy in one of the living-room cabinets. She would need a copper bowl, some herbs and…

“Effie.” Peeta hissed through clenched teeth from the room’s threshold, the panic clearly audible in his voice. The anger too.

She turned around, a frown on her face, and searched for the threat he must have perceived… There was nothing in the room. Nothing but them.

The boy’s features were distorted with fury.

“Effie, I can’t… I can’t control it.” he growled, punctuating his sentence with a powerful punch in her brand new painted wall. It chipped off some paint. “I’m just so… The anger is too powerful.. I want to…”

He wanted to hurt her. Or anyone really.

Peeta had never voiced his terror out loud but she – and she supposed Haymitch – had understood it well enough. He was scared of becoming whoever was making his life hell at home, of losing control of his temper, of being violent with people he loved…

“Peeta…” She used what she hoped to be a soothing voice. “This is all in your head…”

But was it though? Her fingers were tingling so badly… She didn’t need to look to know they were glowing gold again. The insisting throbbing of her power was so powerful it was quickly becoming painful. It begged for release.

He wasn’t the only one scared of hurting  someone they loved.

They stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity but couldn’t have been more than two seconds.

Then, Peeta lunged at her with a war cry and she lifted both hands in front of her, releasing some of her overflowing magic. The boy was propelled back but didn’t remain on the floor long. He rolled back into a crouch and then stared at her long and hard, blood dripping from a gash on his forehead, his breathing visibly labored…

She thought he was going to pounce on her again but before she could do anything to prevent that, he _stilled_ as if he couldn’t get enough air inside his lungs. Next thing she knew, his eyes were rolling back and he collapsed on her living-room floor.

“Peeta!” she shouted.

At least, she tried to shout. Her own lungs rejected every breath she tried to take. She fell to her knees, her glowing palms hitting the floor with a smack. The magic was going to consume her before the fear demon could get to her. She was certain of it.

Her powers weren’t throbbing anymore they were _pulsing._ The magic would come out one way or another. She was too fragile a receptacle for it. She couldn’t control it. She couldn’t contain it. She was weak, like her mother had always said. Too weak for this. The magic would destroy her and perhaps use her body like a puppet.

She felt as if she was about to _explode_.

_She_ _couldn’t_ _breathe_.

She crawled away from Peeta, crawled all the way to the opened front door…

The only thing she could think about was that she needed to put as much space between her and her friends as possible. If she couldn’t control the magic, if it lashed out… It would destroy everything around…

She rolled down the steps that lead up to her house without any grace, landing in her perfect driveway… It wasn’t easier to crawl on gravel. She scratched her knees and her hands. She couldn’t breathe. _She couldn’t breathe_. Everything _burned_. It wasn’t just her fingers that were glowing now, it was her whole body.

She managed to drag herself to the middle of the street between her house and Haymitch’s and then she couldn’t take it anymore.

She _screamed_.

When her voice went hoarse, she panted, unable to get her breath back. She rolled on her back, saw nothing but the grayish blue of the sky…

She was going to die.

The thought came with a calm sort of certainty. She was going to die. It wasn’t a matter of _if_ anymore, it was a matter of _how_. Clearly, the Lachnoc demon had been watching them, figured out they knew it was him, upped his game before they could take the fight to him, safe in his immaterial form…

Well… Not on her watch.

She had all this magic that would end up killing her… She dug her fingers in the concrete, felt the road _break_ under the strength of her power… He had made her all powerful, _the demon_ had made her all powerful… It was time to show him that it had been a mistake.

She closed her eyes and gathered all the power she held within herself, searched the Earth for more… The Hellmouth was right there, so tempting… She almost gave in, almost… She felt large veins of pure power pulse on her face, when she opened her eyelids again, her head shot backward under the surge of magic, her eyes shone gold.

She screamed again.

She _had_ to.

It hurt so much.

The magic came out in a powerful wave and, bypassing any ritual, she forced the demon to manifest.

It appeared right there, a few feet from her. It was an ugly thing. A grey vaguely humanoid shape draped in an old dirty toga of sort.

The demon hadn’t expected that, she could tell. She could breathe more easily, the fear was gone. It took all she had to roll on her knees and stand up. She wasn’t steady on her feet when she outstretched both hands in the demon’s direction.

“ _Burn_.” she ordered and her voice was pure command.

The magic surged again. Flames shot out of her palms, the demon was briefly engulfed in a blaze of green magical fire…

She didn’t manage to maintain the spell more than a few seconds but it was enough for the cavalry to come to the rescue. 

When she saw the first arrow hit his torso, she didn’t bother trying to remain standing anymore.

She collapsed.

°O°O°O°O°

Katniss sucked a breath in with a gasp, too shocked to even notice _it didn’t hurt anymore_. Her head spinning, it took her a few more seconds and a few more gulps of oxygen to realize someone had been screaming outside. Screams of pain.

_Effie_.

Ignoring her aching limbs and the dizziness that had yet to pass, she rushed to her bow, barely noticing Haymitch coming back up from the basement with a sword he didn’t seem to have the strength to lift properly. He looked just as dazed and lost as she felt.

She ran outside just in time to see Effie shoot _flames_ at a grey demon, _magical_ flames too. The witch didn’t look good, she was as pale as death, she had a nosebleed and she was visibly shaking even from afar.

“ _Shit_.” Haymitch spat behind her, heading straight for his fellow Watcher.

Katniss took aim and started shooting.

Her whole attention on the demon, she only noticed Effie’s fall because Haymitch ran over, dragging that sword behind him like it was weighing a ton. He dragged the witch’s upper body off the ground, propped her up against his chest, cupped her cheek…

Katniss kept shooting at the roaring unhappy demon.

She wasn’t making much progress with the bow.

At least until flaming arrows started slipping through her fingertips.

“Stop it, for _fuck’s_ sake!” Haymitch raged at Effie. “You’re gonna kill yourself!”

Katniss tried to shoot quicker so the witch wouldn’t have to maintain that spell for long. It was starting to work, the disoriented – and now a little charred – demon was beginning to falter when it decided to _charge_.

Of course.

Katniss dove left, rolled and steadied herself in a crouch.

“Haymitch!” she shouted.

Her Watcher tossed the sword in her direction, blade up. _Dangerous gamble_ , she couldn’t help but think even as her fingers closed around the hilt. The blade lit up with magical fire as soon as she touched it.

She didn’t wait to attack the demon who might have been very powerful in his immaterial plane but was clearly _not_ a fighter. After the whole week-end of anguish, she took a lot of pleasure in chopping off his limbs.

“I said stop it!” Haymitch snapped, shaking Effie. “You’re being reckless! Effie! _Effie!_ ”

Katniss didn’t need to look to know what was happening, the moment she twisted the sword around for the final hit, the blade turned cold, back to its original steel. It still beheaded the Lachnoc demon without any problem.

The corpse faded to grayish blue goo that splashed on her boots. She didn’t pause to reflect on it and immediately jogged over to the middle of the street where Haymitch had Effie half sprawled on his lap.

“How is she?” she asked, a worried frown on her face.

Prim came running out of the house just as Peeta staggered out from Effie’s. 

Haymitch didn’t pay either of them any attention. His big hand was cupping the woman’s nape, her blond hair in complete disarray. She had fainted at some point – most likely when the blade had stopped burning – and she _really_ didn’t look good.

“Is she breathing?” Prim immediately dropped to her knees. “You shouldn’t hold her like that, her nose is bleeding. She could choke.”

“She needs to go to the hospital.” Haymitch replied, letting the twelve year-old adjust his hold on her. “She overdid it. I don’t know…” He made a face, let go of her long enough to run a hand in his hair. “I ain’t a magical expert. She could be in a _fucking_ coma after what she just pulled. She’s a _fucking_ idiot! If she makes it, I’m gonna _kill_ her! That was…”

“She’s breathing.” Prim cut him off. “Let’s focus on that.”

Katniss was always amazed at how good her sister was when it came to taking charge in case of medical emergency.

“She’s right.” she said, turning toward Peeta who was slowly making his way over, clutching his head. “We need your car.”

The boy wordlessly fished his keys from his pocket and handed them over to her.

Haymitch gave him a glance over and frowned. “What happened to you?” 

“She knocked me off.” Peeta mumbled, blinking slowly. “What happened?”

“What happened is we won’t be going to the hospital for nothing.” Haymitch scoffed, slowly hauling himself – and Effie – up. “Let’s go.”

They all piled in Peeta’s truck. Katniss almost asked Haymitch if he was _certain_ he was in any shape to drive but she thought better of it and swallowed the question back. Peeta could barely stay awake and it would probably take _her_ far too long to drive the car to the Village’s gate so Haymitch was their best bet even if he looked like he had aged ten years in an hour.

She glanced at his shaking hands strangling the wheel and wondered how long it had been since he had last drunk, too. She couldn’t remember seeing him sneaking drinks as regularly as usual.

“Her pulse is very faint.” Prim whispered to her at some point.

She shouldn’t have bothered keeping her voice low because it was so silent in the car, Haymitch heard anyway. He sped up so abruptly Katniss’ stomach churned.

She hated hospitals.

She hated the way her friends were whisked away, Effie on a stretcher, Haymitch following close behind and Peeta coaxed to a bed by a nurse who immediately grabbed a pad to press against his bleeding forehead. She hated the way the medical staff pushed her and Prim back and asked them to stay in the waiting room until her friends were settled.

“Your father will be right back.” one of the nurses kindly told them. “Your mother and your brother are in excellent hands.”

It was so stupid that Katniss gaped instead of correcting her.

Prim flopped down on one of the empty chairs, not even bothering to swallow back her giggles. It wasn’t _that_ funny but Katniss slowly sat down next to her and shrugged. “I guess it makes sense to them. We all came in together.”

Her sister shook her head, laughing harder. It was adrenaline, probably, a reaction to a post impending death moment. Katniss was torn between laughing with her and feeling very sorry she hadn’t protected her better.

“ _Brother_.” Prim finally whispered between two chuckles.

Katniss’ eyebrows shot up. “ _That’s_ what gets you?”

Her sister shot her a knowing grin. “If Peeta was our brother, the way you look at him would be very _very_ sick. Possibly illegal.”

She felt herself blush, not really sure why. She nudged Prim’s knee with her own. “I don’t look at him.”

“Sure.” Prim humored her. “You don’t look at him at all. Like he doesn’t look at you. Just like Effie and Haymitch don’t look at each other. Nobody’s looking at anyone.”

She rolled her eyes, a smile tugging at her lips because it was good to see Prim act so lightly despite everything. But _everything_ was weighing heavily on her mind. “They will be okay, right?”

She was the big sister, she was supposed to be the one to offer reassurance and comfort but…

“Peeta didn’t look too bad. He probably just knocked his head a little too hard.” Prim commented, slipping her hand in hers. “I don’t know about Effie.”

She forced herself to smile for her sister’s sake. “She’ll be fine. She’s _Effie_. Nothing keeps her down for long.”

They didn’t talk after that, they kept holding hands and watching the other people anxiously waiting for news like they were. It was several minutes before Haymitch came back.

“They kicked me out.” he grumbled. “They’re doing tests, she hasn’t woken up yet. And they’re taking the boy for a CT. They called his folks but no answer.” He sat down on a chair and rubbed his face. “He should be okay, though. Mild concussion maybe.”

Katniss let out a sigh of relief.

“What about Effie?” Prim asked gently. “I mean… You said she could end up in a coma… But it’s because of the magic, will the doctors know how to help her?”

“Guess it’s like her body’s shutting down. Either it recuperates on its own or… I know a few people who could help if it comes to that maybe…” He shook his head. “I don’t know. Let’s just hope she wakes by herself. Might take a couple of days. Let’s just hope for that.”

“She’ll be fine.” Katniss said firmly. “She _has_ to be.”

She wouldn’t accept anything less.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ding dong the witch is dead! Oh... Or is that demon? Which one is it... Mmmm... What did you think? two chapters left in this episode!
> 
> An aside but on monday I will start posting a daemon au (from pullman's books, no knowledge necessary) with a chapter a day for the next two weeks and a half so come on board if you want! It should be titled: the sinews of thy heart (because i don't have a better idea yet).


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Due to the daily post of daemons I had to cut this chapter in two because it was too long to beta so there will be a chapter more than planned ;)

Waffles on Sunday mornings were hugely overrated.

Katniss poked at the soggy mess in her plate with her fork and tried to muster an appropriately thankful smile for a beaming Effie. Prim had coaxed Haymitch into helping her make the dough that morning and the witch’s only job was to actually put the dough in the waffle iron. How she could have messed _that_ up…

Peeta was still trying to swallow a bite of his own waffle and Prim was pretending to be looking for Buttercup’s food in a cupboard to avoid having to deal with her own.

And yet Effie hadn’t been out of the hospital long enough that Katniss felt comfortable rubbing her nose in her lack of cooking talents. Not when the woman still had visible dark bags under her eyes despite the heavy layer of make-up and certainly not when she had remained in a coma of sort for two very long days.

She reminded herself she was supposed to be the Slayer, vanquisher of all evil or whatever, and that she could confront a saggy waffle. She took a bite, chewed hard and forced a smile.

“It’s good.” she said around that mouthful.

Haymitch snorted. He was leaning against the kitchen counter, a tall glass of orange juice – although given the color, it probably wasn’t _only_ orange juice – in his hand. When Effie pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at him, the warning obvious on her face, he simply shook his head and nudged the witch toward one of the chairs.

“I’m in charge of making the waffles now.” he decided.

“I am perfectly capable of doing it.” the woman huffed. “I just have to pour dough in the machine, press down and wait the required amount of time. How can I mess _that_ up?”

“That’s the question.” Peeta muttered under his breath, for Katniss’ ears only. They exchanged an amused smile and quickly looked away to avoid bursting out laughing. That wouldn’t go down well.

“Let’s make it a new rule that people who spend a week at the hospital ain’t required to cook.” Haymitch taunted. “Hell, I’m gonna sweeten the deal, Princess. Let’s make it a rule _you_ are never required to cook cause _I_ don’t wanna spend a whole week with food poisoning.”

The witch huffed and puffed and then pouted but Katniss thought Effie was secretly relieved to be able to sit down and eat breakfast without having to make it.

It had been her own idea to have everyone over. Peeta had showed up practically at dawn, having sneaked out of the house before he could be swept in the Sunday rush at the bakery. He, unlike Effie, looked completely recovered from his slight concussion.

None of them, however, seemed completely recovered from the fear demon’s influence. The fears lingered under the surface, unaddressed and generally ignored.

“What’s the plan today?” Peeta asked just as Prim came back to the table. Right in time for Haymitch to switch her waffle for a fresh one – one that didn’t look a mess. “More research?”

_The Careers._

The reminder made Katniss’ stomach churn and her appetite wavered. She casually took a sip of her tea and avoided her sister’s knowing – and worried – gaze. The two of them, along with Haymitch and later on once he hadn’t felt like puking every five seconds Peeta, had been poring over books all week. In effect, they had been poring over books for _months_.

“We all need a break.” Haymitch denied, his grey eyes traveling from the boy to Effie and back to Katniss. They lingered on her and she jutted her chin up, trying to convey she was perfectly up to doing more research. She wanted to be prepared. When the Careers would come… Haymitch shook his head, as if already knowing what she was about to say. “We don’t have any lead to go on. There’s nothing in the library. We’re gonna have a training session later but we’re taking today off. You kids do something fun.”

“We could all do something together.” Prim suggested. Everyone looked at her and she blushed. “I mean… It could be nice? Like a family day?”

Katniss held her breath, not sure what sort of reaction that would trigger. Haymitch was their guardian now, it didn’t mean he was duty bound to indulge her sister. He had promised he would take care of Prim if anything happened to her but he had never promised he was going to…

“Don’t see why not.” Haymitch shrugged, his face softening like often around the twelve year-old. Maybe she reminded him of his brother. “What do you have in mind?”

“ _Oh_ … How about some manicure time?” Effie cut in, almost bouncing on her chair in her enthusiasm. “I have new nail polish bottles I have been meaning to try and I have _precious_ new patterns for nail art…” Haymitch opened his mouth – probably to protest – and the witch waved her hand before he could say anything. “You can sit in a corner and read. Nobody will force you to paint your toenails pink, Haymitch.”

“We could play chess.” Peeta offered the Watcher.

“Chess it is.” Haymitch gratefully agreed, dropping a waffle on Effie’s plate.

“Do you have a purple one?” Prim asked, clearly excited by the prospect. “Can I paint mine purple?”

Effie flashed her a bright smile. “You can have purple nail polish, glitter and any pattern you want.”

Katniss found herself lost in the momentum, not really wanting to get a manicure but also unwilling to damper her sister’s and the witch’s mood. Haymitch and Peeta started talking about their History assignment over Effie and Prim who were still discussing nail polish and Katniss ate her waffle and watched, content to know everyone was in one place, safe and sound.

Maybe waffles on Sunday mornings weren’t so overrated after all.

Her thoughts strayed to Gale and she was tempted to send a text, check up on him, but she ignored the impulse. Things were too strange with her best friend right now, too tense, and Gale had made it clear he didn’t want to be a part of this team, of this makeshift family. The thing was – and she might not have been willing to believe it a few months earlier so she couldn’t fault her best friend for doubting it – she _loved_ her makeshift family, even the witch whose magic she still had ambiguous feelings for most of the time.

They all looked happy enough right then, so she went with the flow.

Once they had eaten their full, they all ended up in various spots of the living-room. She had had no idea Prim was so knowledgeable about nail art until that moment – although, as she promptly was informed by her sister, that was apparently what _Pinterest_ was for; she didn’t confess not knowing what it meant. It took her a while to realize all of Prim’s friends probably used nail polish but her sister had never asked for any because she knew it cost money.

“That’s a lot of glitter.” Haymitch muttered at some point, glancing away from the chessboard and to what Effie was doing to Prim’s nails. It _was_ a lot of glitter for a twelve year-old but Prim looked so happy… And it _was_ pretty. Stylized glittery flowers over a light layer of purple… Katniss was pretty sure if she had tried to do that it would have ended up looking like a dump of glittery stuff.

She was wary when it was her turn to submit to Effie’s talents and she _begged_ off anything glittery but she had to admit it was a little fun. If only because when Prim tried her hand at it, it turned out a little odd and they all laughed about it.

It felt strangely… _normal_. Not only like before the supernatural entered her life but before her father died. She had very vague memories of entire days spent like that, doing nothing special but spending time together… She couldn’t remember the last time she had seen Prim so relaxed and that was good. She needed this. A strong woman she could look up to – even if Effie was silly at the best of times – and someone who would watch out for her like Haymitch obviously intended to do, even Peeta had started acting like a protective brother and it made Katniss feel better about the whole _dying young_ thing. She knew Gale would also still look out for her sister even if they weren’t on the best terms. When she would fall… Prim would be alright.

Katniss, maybe a bit reluctantly, found she was having fun. At some point, she switched places with Peeta because Effie was adamant about initiating him to nail art – or, more accurately, because she wanted him to help her with her own nails – and she ended up being mocked mercilessly by Haymitch for her lack of talent at chess.

They had a late lunch where they lingered at the table afterwards and they were all so relaxed and, dared she think, content that the ringing of a phone was like a very cold shower.

“Is that _Rambo_?” Haymitch frowned, fishing the phone out of his pocket, sparing an irritated look for Peeta.

“What else was I supposed to use for your mysterious demon hunter friend?” the boy replied innocently. “From the stories, Chaff sounded like a _Rambo_ to me.”

“What did I say about the personalized ringtones?” Haymitch grumbled, standing up and swiping the screen in the same move. “Yeah.”

He left the room and all they could hear was the low rumble of his voice in the corridor. Nobody tried to start a conversation. Even Effie was staring at the door with worried eyes. The mood had shifted, they were all tense and anxious again.

When Haymitch came back, his face was grim. “Chaff managed to track Enobaria down to Italy. The trail led to a missing ceremonial dagger, a coven full of dead nuns and few missing sailors and dock workers. His lead went dead in the harbor and the trail was already cold.”

“What does that mean?” Peeta asked.

“It means they _are_ planning a ritual of sort and that Enobaria took a boat.” Effie deduced.

“It means the Careers _are_ on their way.” Katniss added. “If they’re not already here.”

There was a long pause and then Haymitch cleared his throat. “It’s training time. For all of  us.” His glance fell on Prim and a flash of regret passed over his face. “You too, sweetheart. Don’t expect you to do any fighting but I want you to be able to use a stake. Just in case.”

Katniss doubted that was what her sister had meant by _family time_ but their family wasn’t exactly normal to begin with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They can't catch a break! Did you like this chapter? Let me know!


	10. Chapter 10

Cross-legged on the floor of her gym, Effie linked her fingers together and stretched her arms toward the ceiling to try and relieve the ache in her back. The pink silk dressing gown slid down her shoulder a little but she didn’t pay it any mind. Her skin was still warm and slightly reddish from her shower and she felt better than she had in days, certainly better than when she had woken up on that hospital bed, her head full of cotton, to find Haymitch staring at her with worried eyes and a three days beard.

She couldn’t suppress a shiver when she remembered what could have happened. She could have ended up dead. She had been _lucky_. Her body still feeling sore was a small price to pay compared to what could have been.

That afternoon training session hadn’t really been challenging for her, Haymitch had insisted she took care of Prim and taught the girl how to use a stake, which wasn’t actually straining. He was the one who had taken the brunt of the session, simultaneously putting both Katniss and Peeta through drills before tackling more physical fighting techniques.

She wasn’t sure she was happy about Peeta training like that, she mused, dropping her arms and focusing back on the supplies she had spread around her. Self defense was one thing, one _very_ useful thing, as she had told Prim, but she had the feeling Haymitch was grooming Peeta to become… like him. Someone who could handle their own faced with demons and vampires. A watcher to be, perhaps, even though it would be a long shot given how closed the Council was to strangers.

She woke up her IPad and read through the whole page again, humming slowly under her breath. She checked and rechecked her preparation, made sure she had enough coarse salt, dried petals and herbs… She carefully lit the three sticks of incense that formed a large triangle in the room before sitting back down on the spot she had chosen.

“Is this a booty call or a magic call?” Haymitch snorted from the threshold. “’Cause I can’t tell.”

She looked up with a small smile, waking the tablet again. “Does it have to be mutually exclusive?”

He made his way past the running mill, tossing his jacket on one of the handles, and avoided stepping on her yoga mat.  She had picked her gym because it had the most northern exposure and the book said it would help. Haymitch’s grey eyes embraced the incense triangle, the empty copper bowl in front of her, the map of town, the ingredients she had left in easy reach, the little iron bell that seemed so outdated nowadays, and he sat down in the space she had designated for him, facing her, on the other side of the supplies.

“What are we doing?” he asked. “Doesn’t look like a location spell.”

He would think of location spells because of the map, she supposed. And they _could_ have tried to spot the Careers that way if they had had something of theirs. But without that connection, she couldn’t do much more than guess work.

“I found a protection spell.” she explained, handing him the tablet so he could see for himself. “It is supposed to ward against evil. It should cloak the house to everyone with evil intentions. It is perfect because not only will it ensure the Careers, and Snow if it comes to that, cannot find us but it should protect us from further dealings with demons who think they can attack our homes.”

Haymitch quickly perused the text and lifted his eyebrows. “Does it work on humans?”

“It should work on anyone with evil intentions.” she repeated. “Everyone else will be able to see the Village without troubles.”

He looked up with a frown. “You’re gonna ward off _the whole_ Village?” 

She brushed her fingertips against the map, she had circled the whole Village with a red felt-tip pen. “Yes.”

“That’s a lot.” His frown deepened. “You’re sure you should be using magic again so soon?”

She bristled a little even though she knew he was asking because he was worried and not because he was questioning her abilities. Unlike Coin who had implied she was incompetent for getting herself out of commission for days at a crucial time…

“I feel fine.” she promised. “It is a simple enough spell. It could have waited after patrol. I am surprised you didn’t go with Katniss, by the way… I was going to ask Peeta to assist me originally but it seems to me he has a lot on his plate right now.”

Of all of them, Peeta was the one who was having the most troubles recovering from the Lachnoc demon’s influence. That seemed terribly obvious to Effie. Haymitch had shrugged off the while demonic influence thing apparently easily enough, perhaps because even though he didn’t usually _see_ the ghosts, he always carried them with him wherever he went. Katniss was closed-off as usual and if she kept an even keener watch over them all than before, it was subtle enough not to be glaring. Prim’s fear of abandonment had seemed to abate a little once she had really settled in her new home – and Haymitch’s not so clueless constant reminders that she was his favorite helped, she figured. As for herself… She had chosen not to look at her hidden desires too closely, to ignore how good it had felt to be so powerful, how greedy she had been for more power, how desperate she had been to be… _more_.

“Yeah, patrol… Seemed to me the kids could use some alone time to talk.” he admitted. “And… Can’t be with her every minute of the day. Got to trust she can… handle herself.”

Effie studied him, barely controlling the amused twitch of her lips. “She told you she didn’t want you hovering like a mother hen and that you should watch Prim, didn’t she?”

He rolled his eyes. “That girl’s a pain. And Prim’s gone to bed so…”

She ducked her head to hide her smile and handed him the little bell. “Read the spell over if you wish. I will handle the actual magic, I just need you to repeat after me and ring the bell when needed. I trust you can handle it?”

“I’ve done magic before.” he grumbled and then he smirked, his eyes twinkling. “Got to get naked too or what?”

“I am not naked.” she denied, tilting her head with a coy look.

She _was_ pretty much naked. The pink silky dressing gown was loosely tied at the waist and barely kept her decent. She hadn’t felt the need to get dressed when she knew how she wanted that night to go.

“Yet.” he pointed out, his smirk widening. Still, he grabbed the tablet and read the instructions more carefully. “You know I hate doing magic, yeah? Always creeps me out.”

“Well… You will be happy to know I am back to my usual limited abilities so there is no need for you to feel scared.” she replied.

He glanced up at her and back down at the tablet. “Never felt scared.”

She shivered when she remembered the needy pull of her own magic tugging at her mind, how deep the power had run, how _corrupting_ … The call of the Hellmouth, almost too tempting to ignore…

“That makes one of us, then.” she huffed. He put the tablet down and watched her for a moment, his face blank. She held his gaze for a minute and then averted it. “What is it?”

“I’ve got a theory.” he said, calm but a bit sarcastic. “But you ain’t gonna like it.”

She crossed her arms in front of her, almost hugging herself. “A theory?”

“I’ve been reading up on Lachnoc demons…” he hesitated. “They create illusions, exploit latent fears… But they can’t create the kind of power you’ve been showing, sweetheart. Losing control of your magic, the Hellmouth thing… Seems legit. But there’s no way the demon increased your power.”

Her stomach churned with dread and she hugged herself tighter. She knew what he was getting at, he had been adamant she was more powerful than she let on since she had first performed magic in front of him. However, he was _wrong_. Her mother would have known if she had been. Her mother would have _loved her more_ if she had been.

“I am not a strong witch.” she refuted but it sounded weak. Because he had a point. The power hadn’t felt _borrowed,_ it had felt like it _belonged_ to her but… No. It couldn’t be. She had never shown that much ease or…

She resisted the urge to summon her cigarettes. The air in the room needed to remain clear for the ritual. She could stress-smoke once they would be done.

“Magic creeps me out.” Haymitch offered casually, placing the tablet back in front of her. “Always has. Hates how it feels on me. Your magic though… It’s warm. Tingles. Like a kiss.” He shook his head at his own bad metaphor. “You shine gold when you do big magic, sweetheart. Gold doesn’t strike me as an evil omen. You shouldn’t be scared of yourself. Don’t know what your mother is or not but you ain’t like her.”

There was a lump in her throat and she nodded her understanding but the idea that she might have been so scared of her own powers that she had subconsciously buried them deep inside herself? It was disturbing and not in a good way. Was it even possible? She already knew she wouldn’t be calling her mother to ask. Her mother would laugh and tell her to stop confusing her wishes with reality. Caesar though… Caesar might know. And her former Watcher would not mock her for the question.

Either way, it was not something that would be cleared up that night and they had work to do.

She forced herself to relax, uncross her arms, put a smile on her face, fake some cheerfulness. “Shall we?”

He sighed but nodded.

She closed her eyes, tried to find the inner peace she needed – and that was always so hard to achieve – let herself feel the gentle soothing hum of her magic… Then she licked her lips and started.

“ _Goddess, hear me.”_  she demanded, pausing only long enough for Haymitch to echo her words and ring the bell. “ _Goddess, I call to thee.”_  She slowly poured the dried petals into the copper bowl, waiting until Haymitch had repeated and rung the bell to continue. “ _Goddess, heed my prayer.”_   She added three pinches of herbs, letting Haymitch ring the bell once between each offering. “ _Goddess, protect your supplicant.”_  She let the coarse salt slowly slip through her fingers and into the copper bowl. Once Haymitch had echoed her words and the bell had chimed, she placed the map on top of the bowl. “ _Goddess, bless this abode.”_  She closed her eyes, outstretched her hands over the bowl. This was the crucial moment. _“Goddess, let it be free of evil.”_  

She summoned magical fire to consume the content of the bowl. The flames were burning an emerald green. She opened her eyes and nodded at Haymitch who repeated and rang the bell one last time. The moment the bell chimed the three stick of incense flared and the magical fire died.

She felt the tug of her magic down to her navel, she felt the _pulse_ washing off her and spreading like a wave of power…

She knew the spell had worked.

She felt high on magic for a second.

“Well…” Haymitch chuckled, licking his lips. “ _Shit_. That felt…”

“Warm and tingly like a kiss?” she teased, lowering herself on her back because she felt a little light-headed. It was better lying down. Definitely better.

“Depends _where_ we’re talking about kissing.” he snorted. She heard him push everything aside and she wasn’t really surprised when he hovered over her on all four. “Magic’s still better than sex, sweetheart?”

She couldn’t help but grin. “Still not over that comment?”

“Ain’t sure I’m ever gonna be.” he retorted.

“Perhaps you should try to convince me, then.” she challenged.  

She distractedly played with the buttons of his shirt. He shifted his weight on one hand, his free one immediately tugging on the belt of her dressing gown. She shivered a little when the air hit her naked skin but she didn’t have time to be cold for long, not when his mouth immediately closed on her nipple.

“You’re so fucking gorgeous.” he muttered, tracing a burning path down her stomach.

She loved the raspy feel of his stubble against her skin.

She loved what he could do with his tongue even more.

Afterwards, once they were both very naked and so sweaty she would be forced to take another shower before going to bed, they laid side by side and stared at the ceiling. Effie wanted to bask in the afterglow but her mind was too busy to shut down, even after breathtaking sex. She knew he was rummaging his own problems too, the very tangible probability that Snow would be rising too much to be ignored.

“Are we still casual?”

The question slipped out before she could hold it back, brought up by the memory of their non-date at the diner, the dread of seeing the Master vampire rise and her own fear at powers she may or may not secretly possess. The same way he was apparently scared of seeing her hurt because of their affair, she was scared she would end up hurting him with her magic. Accidentally or not. She had lost count of the number of times she had seen her mother do something drastic for her own gain.

Perhaps it was easier to think it was magic that had corrupted Elindra than to accept her mother had always been so greedily selfish.

“Yeah.” he said immediately, without even pausing to think about it. “Why? You wanna stop?”

Was she projecting the relief beneath the question? She couldn’t imagine what it was like. Losing first your mother, then your brother, then the love of your life only to see your charges die one after the other… Terrifying probably.

“I think it is too late for that.” she whispered.

She didn’t see them stopping any time soon. Not when her whole body seemed to hum every time he stood next to her. Not when she couldn’t help but smile at his lame jokes. Not when he infuriated her so much she wanted to claw his eyes out or kiss him senseless or both.

He didn’t answer.

Maybe because he knew it too.

She felt his head roll to the side so she turned hers. They stared at each other for a while and she was _so sure_ he was going to say something _important,_ something that would change _everything_ – and she was both scared and elated – that she was disappointed when he closed his eyes and went back to looking at the ceiling. She didn’t try to probe though. She snuggled against his side to keep warm and hooked a leg over his thigh, simply happy when he wrapped his arm around her, tugging her even closer.

They stayed like that for long enough that she was contemplating suggesting they took this to her bedroom. The floor really wasn’t that comfortable.

“You think I did right?” he asked suddenly. “About the boys in the bedroom rule, you know?”

He sounded unsure, out of his depths, but it took Effie a moment to decipher what he was talking about. Forbidding Katniss from being alone in her room with boys. Well… _Peeta_.

“Honestly I thought it was an obvious rule.” she hummed. “Caesar would have _killed_ me.”

He would not have been _surprised_ but he _would_ have killed her if he had caught her sneaking boys in her room.

And thankfully for everyone involved, he had _never_ caught her.

“It’s just…” He sighed, tangling his fingers in her hair in what was quickly becoming a habit of his. He liked playing with her curls, she had noticed. “Feel like a _fucking_ hypocrite. When I was her age… Mabel and I were at it like rabbits. She was a real fan of the _we could die tomorrow_ idea, you know.” 

It wasn’t hard to imagine. She already had troubles keeping her hands to herself _now_ , she couldn’t imagine not wanting to have some naughty fun with him at sixteen.

“What did Mags say?” she asked.

“Mostly she pretended she didn’t know.” He shrugged. “Saved us all unnecessary drama, I guess. Should have done the same really. Ain’t my business what Katniss does. She could die soon. Should enjoy life.”

She hated the sadness in his voice just as much as she hated to think about losing their current Slayer. She let her fingers drift on his chest, tracing random patterns toward the big scar on his side, the one he didn’t like her to touch.

“Did you get involved in your other Slayers’ love life?” she enquired.

He remained silent for a long time, probably because it was painful to talk about. “Not really. Maysilee cut herself off from everyone. Alina only had school crushes. Cecilia had a steady boyfriend but she never talked to me about it. Jo… Jo had one-night-stands.” He snorted. “So many. Made me furious ‘cause they were older guys and she deserved more but she was…” He stopped and shrugged. “Jo was Jo. She had her issues.” Her fingers were dancing on the huge swollen scar when he replaced her hand higher on his chest. He didn’t even seem to realize it. “And Annie… Annie was a mess from start to finish but she and Finnick… It was obvious. Nothing to say about it. Reminded me of…”

He let the sentence trail off but she understood it well enough. The Watcher in training and a Slayer. It had reminded him of himself and Mabel.

“I could talk to Katniss about contraception methods if you wish.” she offered. “I am assuming nobody had the talk with her…”

“Safe bet.” He scowled. “You know… Ain’t sure taking the girls in is the smartest thing ‘cause I ain’t parent material but then one of them’s gonna say something sometimes and I think they’re better off with me anyway, even if I’m gonna _fuck_ it up eventually. They’ve been on their own for a long time, seems like.”

“Given that your first impulse was to ban Peeta from Katniss’ room despite your own personal experience, I am going to say you _are_ actually parent material.” she teased, softening that with a kiss on his shoulder. “But you are right, they _do_ need someone and with this spell now the Village will be the safest place for them. For all of us.” The only problem was… “Did Peeta talk to you?”

“About what had him so terrified of getting too angry to control himself?” he deadpanned. “Not a pip. He talked to you?”

“No.” she admitted. And yet the boy had visited her every day at the hospital, brought her flowers and get well cards from the Art class students… She hated the shadow she could glimpse in his eyes still. The fear. The guilt. It made her furious. Furious enough to want to hurt someone. “At which point do we decide it is enough and storm that bakery?”

Haymitch rubbed his face and sighed. “We can’t prove anything.”

“There are bruises and burn marks.” she snapped. “Do _not_ tell me…”

“Effie. We have _zero_ proof.” he cut her off. “And he ain’t talking. We can report it to Heavensbee but then what? It won’t lead to anything cause the boy’s gonna deny it and that’s only gonna make his parents more angry which is gonna put him in danger. _And_ he might decide he doesn’t trust us anymore and he won’t come to us if he needs help. It _has_ to come from him. We can do _shit_ until he talks to one of us.”

She bundled her hand into a fist and propped her chin on his shoulder so she could look at him. “I am warning you. When he _does_ talk, I will unleash the fires of _hell_ on that bakery.”

She wasn’t entirely sure she wasn’t being literal.

He couldn’t have had a problem with that though because he only snorted. “I’ll hold your purse while you do.”

She replaced her cheek down on his shoulder, satisfied. That was what a good not-boyfriend ought to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They're still casual alright XD Will the bakery survive Effie's wrath? Next week is the last chapter of this episode and, yes, it only has Katniss and Peeta in it so you will get everlark content. Be patient, my lovelies, everlark is a slow burn when Effie is a blaze, not my fault. What did you think of this chapter? Let me know!


	11. Chapter 11

Katniss studied her waffle with pursed lips in the dim glow of the lampposts that boarded the pavement.

“Does this look like sugar or dust to you?” she asked, tilting the waffle she had wrapped in paper napkins before leaving the house earlier.

Peeta barely glanced at the leftover from breakfast, amusement dancing on his face. “I told you you should have eaten it _before_ patrol.”

Her pursed lips morphed into a full pout and she tried to decide if she was really _that_ disgusted by the possibility of swallowing vampire dust. She had kept the waffle wrapped and safe in her pocket the whole time they had toured the cemetery, determined to save it for _after_ when she would feel the urge to eat something sweet. She always craved something sugary after patrolling for some reason.

She hadn’t even found that many vampires that night. A few in the graveyard that hadn’t really been a challenge, a couple in dark alleys… They were getting closer to the town’s center right then because Katniss’ not so subtle aim was to walk Peeta back home so he would get there safely since he didn’t have his truck. His father wasn’t letting him drive yet, from what she had gathered, because of the concussion.

In the end, she shrugged and took a big bite, praying it was sugar and not dust, unwilling to waste perfectly good food. Fortunately, it didn’t taste weird.

“How’s the arm?” she asked, between two bites.

Peeta winced and rolled his left shoulder a couple of times. “Better. Haymitch wasn’t kidding with the training.”

“You wanted to learn.” she pointed out.

That afternoon training had been challenging, maybe because it was the first time they all trained together and the fact that Effie had spent half the time coaching her sister had distracted her. Haymitch had run both she and Peeta through drills that had kept increasing in difficulty.

“I did. I _do_.” Peeta countered. “I’m just not… I don’t feel that great yet.”

He rubbed his forehead with a sheepish wince and Katniss winced in sympathy. She was feeling so bad for him that she handed him what was left of her waffle but he refused with a shake of his head. She didn’t insist too much. Killing vampires, as it turned out, made a Slayer hungry.

They were nearing the bakery and when they passed in front of the shop’s front window, she let her eyes linger over all the pretty cakes and pastries lined up to catch a potential customer’s gaze. She could remember a time when she had spent hours watching those cakes, fantasizing about them, how they would taste on her tongue… She had been so starved back then that she would have done anything for a piece of bread. The cakes had looked amazing but not as much as the bread she had watched people walk out of the bakery with, the same bread Peeta used to sneak to her sometimes to her great embarrassment.

The lights were still on on the bakery’s upper floor but Peeta didn’t stop in front of the door like she expected him to, like _she_ did. He kept on walking.

It was late. Late enough that normal teenagers should have already been home, sleeping in their beds, mindful of the fact the weekend was over and school would start early the next morning. Late enough that parents would be asking questions if their child didn’t show up soon, probably.

When he noticed she wasn’t next to him anymore, he stopped and turned around, a question on his face.

“Don’t you live here?” she asked with a frown, pointing at the lit-up upper floor. She had assumed. He had never brought her to his house since they had started hanging out and she had never _asked_ where he lived precisely but she had vague memories of hearing him talk about living over the bakery from kindergarten…

“We used to.” he said, understanding dawning on his face. “We moved after my dad franchised the bakery. My mom wanted a house. It’s not too far from Madge’s actually.” Her frown deepened and she looked up again at the light that was still clearly spilling through the bakery’s upper floor windows. Peeta sighed. “That’s probably my dad. They converted the apartment into an office. He usually comes home late. Or not at all.”

“Oh.” She didn’t know what else to say.

Peeta shrugged and buried his hands in the pockets of his jacket. He opened his mouth and, for a second, she thought he was going to make a joke to lighten the mood but he licked his lips instead, avoiding her gaze. “We could do another loop.”

“Sure.” She readily accepted the suggestion, already mapping the quickest path that would take them closer to the wealthy suburb where the mayor and his family lived.

She wasn’t that eager to go home either and she could think of worse ways to waste time than walk around with Peeta.

Truth be told, she didn’t miss the trailer park. It hadn’t taken long for her to feel at home in Haymitch’s house. The problem was that she sometimes felt a little… _trapped_. She wasn’t used to have to answer to a higher authority, she wasn’t used to have to tell someone she was going out or that she was safely back in, she wasn’t used to having someone care about her wellbeing to the point it was sometimes suffocating.

Sure, Haymitch had more or less already stepped into that role when he had become her Watcher but he had been acting weird since they had moved in. His newfound obsession that Peeta shouldn’t _ever_ go upstairs with her without Prim to act as chaperone was only the tip of the iceberg. He also insisted they needed to eat vegetables at least twice a week and that they shouldn’t drink too much soda even though he was the one doing the grocery shopping in the first place so he could simply _stop_ buying soda if their sugar consumption bothered him that much.

Prim had joked that it almost felt as if he had skimmed through a parenting book and was trying to implement everything at once. They had laughed for ten minutes straight at the thought of Haymitch secretly hiding a _Parenting Teenagers for Dummies_ book under his bed.

It was very funny to laugh about it at night with her sister, it was a little less funny when he insisted on asking questions nobody had bothered asking her in _years_. Were parents _that_ troublesome when they weren’t comatose on their bed all the time or was Haymitch trying too hard?

“What did you tell your parents?” she asked, following her inner train of thought, and when Peeta looked at her, clearly puzzled, she waved her hand in the air. “About the concussion. They must have asked you how it happened…” All the more so after the car accident that hadn’t been so long ago… “You never told me.”

Peeta had showed up at school one morning, two days after the mad dash to the hospital, and had acted as if everything was perfectly normal, insisting he felt better and was alright to go back to classes. Since Effie had still been in a coma of sorts, neither Katniss nor Haymitch had looked at that too closely.

“They didn’t ask.” Peeta answered after a moment.

“They didn’t ask?” she repeated, surprised. Even _her mother_ would have asked if she had been called by the hospital because Katniss had managed to get concussed…

Peeta was silent for so long she thought it would be the end of the conversation.

The only sound was the echo of their footsteps on the pavement. The streets were deserted. Not a passerby, a vampire or even a stray cat wandering by. Katniss’ grey eyes kept darting around anyway, studying her surroundings by reflex, trying to hone her Slayer senses like Haymitch insisted she ought to do.

They were nearing the nicer part of town and the houses reflected that. The lawns were becoming larger and greener, the fences were straight and all looked brand new…

“My dad thought he knew how it happened and I didn’t tell him he was wrong.” he said at last. “My mom doesn’t care.”

Katniss bundled the napkins that had held her waffle in a big ball and forced it in her pocket until she could find a trash can to toss them in. The waters felt treacherous and she wasn’t certain if she should push or not. She wasn’t the most attentive person but even she had noticed Peeta was reluctant to talk about his family, almost as reluctant as _she_ was.

And she couldn’t stop thinking about the burn scars on his arms, couldn’t stop drawing connections, couldn’t stop replaying his ridiculous fear that he would somehow end up physically hurting someone he cared about…

“What does your dad think happened?” Her voice sounded careful to her own ears, almost _wary_. Peeta’s face closed up like it rarely did. He slouched a little, burying his hands deeper in his pockets, staring at his feet… Katniss felt bad for butting her head in where it didn’t belong. She understood wanting to keep some things private, she truly did. “Never mind. You don’t have to…”

“It’s not my first concussion.” he cut her off in a soft voice. “I think it must be my fourth one.” She wasn’t sure what to answer to that so she remained silent. He gave a strange bitter snort that didn’t suit him at all. “Dad got me a new video game this time.”

She felt cold. As if someone had poured a bucket of icy water over her head. Her stomach churned and, for a second, she couldn’t breathe, exactly like at the worst of the Lachnoc demon’s thrall.

“Your dad hurt you before?” She whispered it because she couldn’t say it aloud properly. It was too difficult to imagine. Mr Mellark looked so nice… He always had a nice word for her when they crossed paths in the street, always had a twinkle in his eyes… She had always thought he looked sweet and funny with his big mustache, even when she was still a child…

“That’s what everyone always thinks, right?” he replied with that same bitterness. “That it’s the father. It’s always the father on TV. You know why? Because mothers aren’t supposed to be able to hurt their kids. Humans like to think it’s against nature but there are plenty of animal mothers who eat their babies if they think they’re deficient.”

Realization hit her straight in the plexus.

His mother… His mother was a witch. And not the _Effie_ kind of witch. A real mean-spirited greedy person who would have cut her own hand rather than help anyone in need.

And his mother, apparently, was also the kind of woman who hurt her son.

Katniss’ sight turned red.

The thought that _anyone_ could willingly hurt someone as sweet as Peeta… Never mind that but the fact that _anyone_ would willingly hurt someone _she_ considered _family_ … Her hands closed into fists.

“It’s pathetic, right?” Peeta laughed but it was self-deprecating and full of misplaced shame. “I mean… I’m taller and everything. She…”

“It’s not your fault.” she interrupted him, a frown on her face. She stopped walking, expecting him to do the same, but he kept going, not even glancing back at her. He kept going and she had to jog to catch up. When she did, she grabbed his arm, _tugged_ … He stopped then but she thought it had more to do with Slayer strength than any real intent on his part. “It’s _not_ your fault.” she said again. “You know that. _Tell_ _me_ you know that.”

It took a really, really long time for Peeta to look up from his shoes and he didn’t meet her eyes very long, barely a fraction of a second, just long enough for her to realize he _didn’t_ know that, that he thought something was wrong with him for his mother to hate him so much.

“Please, don’t pity me.” he murmured, the pain in his voice almost too much to be borne.

She opened and closed her mouth several times, her words betraying her like always when she needed them most.

In the end, she let her hand slide from his elbow to his wrist and, after a moment of hesitation, to his fingers. They were difficult to grab because they were still buried deep in his pocket.

“Don’t be stupid.” she scoffed. She knew she was too harsh but she didn’t know how else to express this.

His blue eyes met hers again, a little longer this time. He made a visible effort to swallow and then force a smile on his lips. “It doesn’t matter anyway.”

“ _Of course_ , it matters.” she retorted, squeezing his fingers. It was a tight fit in his pocket and her wrist was bent at an odd angle and it hurt but she didn’t take her hand away just yet. “Is that why you were so scared of…”

“I don’t want to be like her.” He turned away from her, walked a few steps further along the next white picket fence…

His fingers slipped through hers but she wasn’t sure how to hold him back.

Usually, he was the one reaching out for her.

“I don’t _ever_ want to be like her.” he spat.

“You’re not.” she promised. His back was still turned to her and she didn’t know what to do so she stopped thinking and followed her instinct. She crossed the short distance between them and tossed her arms around him, hugging him tight from behind. His breath itched and his fingers coiled around her forearms. She tightened her awkward embrace, hoping she wasn’t going to accidentally smother him to death. “You’re not like her. You could _never_ be like her. You’re the best person I know.”

His laughter, this time, was a little more genuine, a little more _Peeta_.

“Are you kidding me?” he asked, sounding disbelieving. “You hang out with _heroes_. You remember Haymitch, right? And Effie?”

But Haymitch was like her, tainted and cynical, unable to look at life without waiting for the other shoe to drop. And Effie… Effie had her shadows under all the cheerfulness, if anything that Lachnoc demon had brought them to light.

Peeta… Peeta was _good_. She knew it in every fiber of her being.

“It’s different.” she argued. Peeta was warm and it reminded her of falling asleep next to him. Realizing she was still holding him, she slowly let go and stepped back, leaving him enough space to turn around. Ill-at-ease, she fingered her braid. It was her turn to avert her eyes. “We should go. It’s late and I don’t want to fall asleep in Math again.”

“Right.” Peeta said, licking his lips. He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “My house is just around the corner. You can leave me here, don’t worry.”

Her brows furrowed and she looked straight at him. “You’re not going back there. You’re coming home with me.”

He seemed at a loss for words for a moment and then he shook his head. “Katniss..”

“You’re _not_ going back.” she insisted. “You can have the other guestroom, Prim and I prefer to share anyway.”

“Katniss.” he repeated, more firmly.

“Haymitch won’t mind.” She scowled. “Don’t even try telling me you think he’ll mind.”

“Well, to be fair, he seems to mind me being alone with you a bit these days.” he joked before shaking his head again. “Katniss, it’s fine. I can take care of myself.”

“Obviously, you _can’t_.” she snapped.

Something flashed on his face. Something that looked a lot like _humiliation_. It was gone before she could tell with any certainty.  

“Goodnight, Katniss.” he said firmly, turning back to head in the direction he had pointed at.

She swiftly sidestepped him and blocked his path, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “Tell me you’re not serious. Why would you go back there?”

“It’s my family.” He shrugged. “It’s where I live.”

“Your mother hurts you and your dad doesn’t stop her.” she retorted. “That’s a _shitty_ family.”

“It’s still family.” he insisted, lifting his arms and dropping them back down.

“I’m not letting you go back there.” she snapped. She wasn’t letting anyone she cared about knowingly walk into a potentially dangerous situation. The world was dangerous enough without adding abusive mothers to the mix.

For a second, she thought he was going to get angry but she should have known better. Getting angry wasn’t Peeta’s way. He sighed. “Katniss… I don’t need you to protect me. I’m fine.”

“I’m _supposed_ to protect you.” she argued. “I’m the _Slayer_. I’m…”

“My mom isn’t a vampire or a demon.” he cut her off. “And I can handle it.”

Could he, though? There were scars and bruises on his body that tended to prove otherwise. She wanted to bring him back to Haymitch’s house. She _desperately_ wanted to bring him back to Haymitch’s house where he would be _safe_.

“It doesn’t make it right.” she hissed. “She doesn’t get to hurt you or…”

“Katniss.”  he interrupted again. “You…”

“Not that this whole lover spat isn’t entertaining but I have to say I expected better from a Slayer.”

Both Katniss and Peeta startled and turned around, each reaching for their respective weapons at the same time. In the second it took her to spot the vampire – the very _powerful_ vampire – she realized that they wouldn’t go very far with their stakes and her bow.

Her bow, particularly, would be useless because the vampire was wearing an honest-to-god golden armor, the kind she had only seen on TV. He was dressed like a gladiator – and if _that_ didn’t spell Career to her, nothing would have – and there was a laurel crown on top of his blond curls. The resemblance to Cashmere was so keen that she knew it was Gloss, her brother.

She didn’t know how she had failed to notice him before because the tingles at the base of her nape were _strong_ now. And she had zero doubt the vampire was old and so much more powerful than any she had faced before.

“Peeta, run!” she ordered, shifting to a fighting stance.

Peeta, not surprisingly, stood his ground, clutching his stake tighter.

“Someone played too much _Assassin’s Creed_ …” he mocked.

Gloss’s pale blue eyes passed over the boy and clearly dismissed him, his attention was all for Katniss.  “So you’re the one who killed my sister.”

“And I’ll kill _you_ too.” she retorted, all bravado. Her only hope was that she could slow him down long enough that Peeta could get to his house – _assuming_ Peeta would even be sensible enough to _leave_.

“I don’t think so.” Gloss snorted, obviously not worried about that threat. “Actually, I came to tell you to enjoy yourself while you can, Slayer, because the Reaping is coming and, when it does, the Hellmouth will taste your blood.”

A chill ran down Katniss’ spine.

“Whatever you’re up to, I’ll stop you.” she vowed.

Gloss’s laugh was like broken glass.

“No, you won’t.” The vampire’s smile was chilling. “Our master will rise. And you will fall. Mark my words, Slayer.”

 And just like that, as if he wasn’t worried at all about her attacking him, he turned around and strolled down the street.

Her heart beating fast in her chest, she only hesitated for one second before taking off after him. _Trying to_ , at least.

“ _Don’t_.” Peeta begged, grabbing her arm. She turned her head to him, feeling betrayed and… “You don’t have the right weapons.” he insisted before she could try to argue. “The arrows and the stakes won’t go through that armor…”

And he was right.

When she glanced back at the end of the street, Gloss had vanished anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this concludes this episode. DUM DUM DUUUUUM. Dramatic entrance of our play's villain. Also some overdue everlark. Next episode will start on the 25th! (I know it's a long time but there's hayffie week next week and i'd like a couple of week end free to get some advance on this story). Consider this the mid season two weeks hiatus ;) 
> 
> Did you enjoy this chapter? Will Katniss tell Haymitch about Peeta? Will the world end before anyone rescues our baker boy? Will that bakery burn to the grouuuund? Who will hug Peeta first? What disaster awaits next episode? Let me know all your thoughts!

**Author's Note:**

> So what did you think? Katniss is having Slayer dreams, Buttercup didn't like the cat case, Prim and Peeta are planning joined gifts, naughty watchers seemed busy... Let me know your thoughts!


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